


Crop Season

by Bubonicc



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Addiction, Angst, Bondage, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Prostitution, Rape Recovery, Rough Sex, Sex Slave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-02-24 01:57:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 42,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2564024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubonicc/pseuds/Bubonicc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bots are Vanishing left and Right with no trace as to where they have gone or why. With barely any leads, Ratchet, Drift, and Rodimus lead a strike team in on a few hot areas. Not realizing they are falling into a trap, things take a turn for the worse. </p><p>Inspired by the movies, "Taken" and  "Live Animal."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> If you have not seen the movie "Live Animals" its okay, makes it more of a surprise. (Besides it was a really crappy horror move with a great Concept but really crappy execution of it) so I mashed the movies together to come up with this story!

"Reports are in that another four bots have gone missing in the past week. Two having been elites Iacon guards. No trace has been left behind, authorities are asking for any witnesses in their whereabouts or any information leading to their location. Panic continues to be on the rise as the threat grows each day. More on the story later tonight."

            Consol flicking off, Orion turned to face Ultra Magnus, glancing at him only a moment before looking to Rodimus, Ratchet, and Drift.  Rodimus and Drift stood side by side, Ratchet behind them, arms crossed and a rather un-amused look on his face.

            "You brought us here to see the news?" Rodimus elbowed Drift, and he smirked, but Ratchet kneed them from behind.

            "Not exactly...." Ultra Magnus stepped forwards, towering over all three of them. "The two elite guards who went missing were IronHide and Smokescreen. The two others were innocent bystanders. This is the first report of elite guards gone missing. Prowl has given us reports of only casuals vanishing. Which is not out of the norm, since missing-bot reports are always common. But it is out of the norm for two guards to vanish while on the same post duty."

            "Maybe they just went to have a drink, you know how IronHide gets." Ratchet pushed past Drift and stepped before Orion. "What makes you think they didn't just wander off?"

            "There were signs of a struggle. Barely any, but they were there." Throwing down a few pictures, Magnus pointed to scuff marks on the walls and ground near the place they had been guarding. "The patrol had missed it, but after I took a look...I noticed right away."

            "Drag marks..." Lifting the photo, Ratchet examined it, the marks were worn down, almost as if someone tried to scrub them away. Someone wanted there to be no trace, and for a while there was never any. Maybe because casuals don't know how to leave evidence. But IronHide does. His big peds leave quite the mark."

            "You think this is something more than Simple abduction?" Rodimus was by Ratchet now.

             
            "Maybe, but the reason I called you here is because you three are the most often out and around the most. With Ratchet running clinics all around, he may be a target. And you and Drift as well, since you both have similar jobs as IronHide and Smokescreen..." Orion turned his back to them, looking down out his office window into the bright city below.

            "Have you made any progress with the Black-out clinics?" Ratchet asked, having referred to the clinics that often housed botched medics and pleasurebots. Places loaded with leakers, addicts, and rust buckets.

            "Nothing out of the ordinary. We arrest what we can, but the Dead End has its name for a reason. We have a few places we are planning to hit in the next few weeks, Rodimus and Drift are assigned the task along with a few others as their strike teams. Ratchet, you are the head medic for them, prep them and have them ready. They may need you if a hit go's sour."

            "So what do we do about our missing bots?" Drift asked, hands on his hips, tilting to one side.

            "For now we can only hope to find more clues, maybe more witnesses. Every time there are none to be found, _it's like they vanish with them_. If the numbers keep rising, then we are going to have to put everyone on high alert."

            "Gang activity is through the roof as well." Orion turned back around, onlining his consol and typing a few things before turning the screen to the others. A few convicts faces showed, some familiar, others not so much. "These gang leaders are wanted recently, Tarn, is out number one suspect. Already found guilty for drug dealing, he may be selling bots as well, we have a few areas we will be striking. I will have you filled in when the time comes. But for now I wanted to warn you all to be on your peds, just in case. Keep an optic out for anything, nobot right now is friendly when they are coming for us."

          "Great news." Rodimus threw his hands up, sighing and turning. "Come on Drift, let's get going. "

            "Should I hold your hand?" The white samurai teased and was elbowed in the side as they entered an elevator and went down.

            "Keep an close eye on them Ratchet." Orion looked worried. "Things are not well around here. We must be cautious."

            "I understand old friend, but I don't think you should worry too much, it is still too early to draw any conclusions."

            "I know, but just be careful." With a final nod, Ratchet shook Orions hand and was off.

            "Do you really think this is going to turn into something big?" Ultra Magnus said, watching the elevator doors close behind Ratchet.

            "I have a very bad feeling in my tank about it...that is for sure. Something is coming, and _soon_."


	2. Worry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think Ill be doing longer chapters than what I normally do. Also sorry if this chapter doesn't have a lot of drama in it yet but its coming and it's going to come fast! The next chapter hell breaks loose! So be prepared!

Elevator doors creaked open and Ratchet stepped out, optics catching a glimpse of Rodimus and Drift walking far ahead of him up the street. Laughter echoed in the night as the younger mechs shoved one another playfully then parted with one another at an intersection.

            Ratchet, having caught up to Drift now, watched Rodimus dart away in his alt mode. Watching his taillights vanish into the fog, Drift sighed and put both of his arms behind his head.

            "Who would want that dumb aft anyway."

            "You seem quite fond of him." A long exhale and Ratchet was on the move again, heading for his clinic which was only a few blocks away.

            Drift turned on his heels, staying under a street light before skipping along behind Ratchet.

            "Rodimus is my best friend. How can you not be fond of the mech."

            "I could list a few reason." Sarcastic, as always.

            "But come on, let's be real here. If anybody took him hostage they would give him right back. You know how he gets, his speeches are longer than Orion's." He laughed, "You know, Till All Are One." Winking when Ratchet scoffed, he chuckled.

            He followed the medic a long ways until the clinic was in view, one street light lit the front door, though it flickered on and off from time to time. The building was run down and looked rather creepy at night, but inside was close to state of the art. Spending most of his time in the Clinic, Ratchet invested everything he had into it.

            Treating gutter mechs, and the less fortunate, he also had frequent soldiers pass through as well. Drift was familiar with the place, since he had found himself there time to time when he lived on the streets. Often Ratchet would be the only medic to offer him a full energon refill and a recharge rather than patching him up and shipping him out.

            As much as Ratchet hated to admit it, hit little gutter mech grew into something beautiful and dangerous. He wasn't that short little bot on the corner anymore, not nearly level in height, he was robust and rather visually pleasing to the optic.

            One could argue Rodimus share the same traits, just not the life style, but Ratchet found no visual interest in the hot rod.

            Ratchet stepped close to the Clinic doors, rummaging around in his subspace to find his key-card, he sighed when Drift slid in front of him. Leaning on the doorframe, he raised his brows once and smirked.

            "So...you doing anything tonight."

            "Yes." Pushing Drift's head to the side, he forced the samurai to side step, allowing him to slide his card and enter.

            "Does any of it have to do with me?" Drift had to catch the door from closing on him. Stepping in and letting it shut behind him, he walked to the center of the main lobby and looked around. "Looks the same from the last time I was here."

            "I'll tell my decorator you require a change." Ratchet never turned, but instead headed to the ward. Again, Drift tailed him until Ratchet stopped by his desk, shuffling a few things around.

            When he finally turned, he saw Drift on his side on one of the medical berths, a less than amused look crossed his faceplate.

            "Don't you want to examine me before we go out on our next assignment?" Drift tilted his head, his engine rumbling.

            "The examination isn't until tomorrow..." As much as Ratchet wanted to pull his optics away, Drift knew how to grab his attention. His low purr resonated through him, and he felt a slight charge. Shaking it off, he turned back to his desk, smirking when he heard Drift huff in frustration.

            Almost instantly he felt Drift pressing his body against his back, how he always managed to move that quickly and without sound fascinated him, but he would never admit it to him.

            Drift chestplate rubbed the back of Ratchets armor, and he felt him gently bump his groin to his aft.

            "Come on..." Resting his chin on Ratchets shoulder, he whispered into his audio. "It has been so long since you and I even had time alone."

            Turning his head slightly, he saw Drift pouting against his shoulder, bright blue optics stared up at him. What a puppy face, and damn, he was good at it.

            "I can't leave you here all alone. What if you get kidnapped?" Burying his face into the crook of Ratchets neck, Drifts denta bit a single wire, tugging a bit.

            "You should have followed Rodimus tonight." Glancing back at his work, he again smirked when Drift pulled away and huffed.

            A loud clatter, and Drift was laying on his back on the medical berth, arms crossed over his chest. One leg crossed over the other, he just stared at the ceiling until Ratchet moved over to him and leaned over, looking at him with a raised brow.

            "You just going to lay there and pout all night?"

            "I might." He saw the corners of Ratchet mouth curve and he smiled back. "What's with that look."

            "Nothing, just you are as stubborn as the day I met you." He stroked Drifts cheek only once before pulling back. "But I have a lot of work I need to do tonight-" He watched Drift get up and swing his legs over the table. Before he had a chance to get down, Ratchet had a hand on his chest and was pushing him back down.

            "Ah...I didn't say you had to go..." Something seemed to light up in the CMO's optics, and me smirked. 'First Aid has the night off, and the ward is empty." Before Drift could say anything, Ratchet was on top of him, straddling his hips.

            "And here I was thinking I was being discharged early." A devious look then a soft grunt as their lips crashed together. Unable to help himself, Drift bucked his hips, nudging Ratchet and bouncing him slightly.

            Snaking his hand down, skilled hands massaged Drifts closed panel. Ratchet rather enjoyed when he bit his bottom lip and twisted under him, struggling to stifle his moans. It only took a bit of kneading before Drift popped his panel, revealing his already glistening valve. Spike jutting out as well, it jabbed Ratchets own panel and he jumped a bit.

            "Eager are we?"

            "It's been a while." Already panting, Drift rested his head back, faceplate a light pink. "I was away for a while scouting, didn't do any facing while away. So I uh....have been itching for the right touch."

            "You really should find someone more your age." A servo slid deep into Drifts valve and he jerked, a hand grabbing at Ratchet's torso as he gasped. The rough shallow thrusts of his hand made Drift whine until a second servo was slid in, a little tension this time, but Ratchet was quick to massage out the inner walls.

            Each node bundle lighting up and fluttering, clamping down on his fingers, Drift propped himself up on his elbows and shuttered his optics. A drunk look crossed his face as his head tilted to the side, face bright red.

            "Ah-ah-Frag....Ratchet that....that right there...-" Head tilting back, he savored the patch of nodes Ratchet was giving the most attention too. Rubbing in circular motions, he pressed down once and a while, making sure to tease Drift's outer node with his thumb. "Ah Frag...." In the middle of his grunts, he felt a sudden weight change. Having been flipped, Drift straddled Ratchet who was now laying on his back on the berth. Fingers still buried in Drift's valve, he jerked them up when he saw he was going to protest.

            "What are you-Ah! Mhm~"

            "I'm always doing all the work. I think it's your turn." Spike shooting out of his own housing, he removed his hand from Drift and positioned his hips and valve to just hover over his spike.

            Slowly, Drift sank down, a hand covering his burning face as he engulfed Ratchet. Hips tapping together, Drift shivered and arched his back, hands balled on top of Ratchet's chest plate.

            "F-Frag Ratchet....Frag...." He leaned forwards, resting his burning cheeks on Ratchets cool chestplate. Feeling arms wrap around him, Ratchet slowly pulled his hips back, enjoying the loud _squlitch_ noise Drifts valve made. A slow rhythm a first, tender kisses to the neck and forehead while Drift laid there, shifting a bit to let Ratchet get better access.

            "Mhm..." Sinking his hips into Drift, their hips tapped again and he offlined his optics, the feeling of Drifts valve clenching around him pushing him close to the edge. Wrapping his arms tighter around the ex con, he locked lips with him before jerking hard, the tip of his spike jabbing his ceiling node.

            A muffled cry into Ratchets mouth the zap of pleasure shot through him, his armor plating crawling as overload washed over him. Jerking in Ratchets arms, he eased after a while. He laughed, feeling Ratchets transfluid seeping out from between the spike still lodged in him.

            Looking up at Ratchet, he smiled, his face a light pink now.

            "No fair, I was hoping to have you going all night." He winced when Ratchet flicked his finial and then laughed.

            "Next time, tomorrow is to important for us to be up all night. If we want any home of finding the others." Ratchet was massaging Drift's back, rubbing between the spinal struts were he liked the most. Still connected to him, he made no move to slide his spike out, and neither did Drift. "And you really do need to find someone younger than me to do these things with."

            "I would say I'll work on it...but I won't."Kissing Ratchets plating, he put his head down and offlined his optics. "Just so you know if you get kidnapped, I'll come after you."

            "I am so relieved." Adjusting the berth so Ratchet was in a reclined position, he pulled Drift up a bit more.

            "No really I would." Sitting up, Drift scooted up until his nose was about an inch from Ratchets. "I would..."

            "I don't think you have to worry about someone like me getting kidnapped. Nobody really needs a rundown medic."

            "Still though." Settling back down, Drift sighed, and Ratchet smiled as he watched his chest rise and fall.

            "Does it bother you about the recent disappearances?" He didn't get an answer right away. Watching Drift for a while, it seemed like he was remembering something. "Drift?"

            "It...does a little." Playing with a transformation seam, he didn't look at Ratchet after his next sentence. "When I used to live out on the streets...," He paused, "mechs vanished all the time. Mechs like me."

            "You're not an addict anymore, or a plea-"

            "Pleasure bot, I know. But it's just that those kind of bots were _always_ vanishing. It was _never_ higher ups. Not that they never got jumped...but they always won the fight, and Ironhide is a _big_ bot. He's not easily just....taken. It doesn't make sense to me why the addicts are remaining but our own are going missing. It just worries me."

            "These could be targeted attacks we don't know yet. We don't even know by who, or if these just happen to be coincidence. Tomorrow we investigate the first area, maybe it will have some clues." Petting Drift some more, he sighed. "Recharge here for the night. It's already too late for you to walk out alone, if this threat really is that big of a deal. Orion wouldn't want any of us out this late alone."

            Only nodding in response, Drift heaved one big breath before offlining his optics and slowly slipping into recharge.

            Ratchet stayed awake for a while, rubbing Drifts back for hours before he felt the tug or exhaustion.

            "Don't worry Drift..." Ratchet whispered, stroking Drift's cheek, "we'll find them. Just have to be patient." Resting back, he slipped into recharge himself.

 

* * *

 

 

Drift swung his swords around the main lobby of the clinic, having already been yelled at by First Aid for accidentally slicing a few trays in half.

            "Drift." He heard Ratchet call from the examination room, Rodimus was walking out, a rather angry look on his face as he rubbed his aft.

            "He's got it out for me. He does." The flaming mech whispered to him as they passed. "He fraggin stabbed me. Aft." He grumbled, exchanging spots with him now.

            As he entered the room, he saw Ratchet standing close to a berth in the center of the room, a data pad in one hand.

            "Sit." He said, and Drift did as told. Ratchet was strait to work, palpating Drifts neck, then checking his core temperature then moved on to his abdomen. Everything was in order, just like Rodimus, he was in perfect shape and fit to fight.

            "Am I going to make it doc?"

            "Yes, yes, you are ready for the assignment today."

            "Perfect." Sliding off the berth, he stretched and took a step towards the door but Ratchet grabbed his arm.

            "Not yet, I need to give you a nanite booster first." He was rather pleased when Drift sat back down.

            "I assume you were not this gentle with Rodimus."

            "I take what little pleasures I can." His back to Drift, he filled a vile and turned back to him, motioning for his arm.

            Drift hesitated before handing it over, looking away.

            "I didn't expect you to be afraid of this type of thing." A quick jab and it was over.

            "I'm not afraid..." Drift yanked his arm back. "Just...really big that's all."

            "I am not even going to tell you how many times I have heard that one." Pushing him off of the berth. "Also, here take this." Handing Drift a small package, he helped him off the berth. "It's a medical kit. Put it in your subspace, just in case you might need it."

            "Why would I need this when I always have you here?" Elbowing him, he put it away and walked with him into the lobby.

            "One day you will have to figure out how to tend your wounds on your own." They met Rodimus, who was still scowling.

            "Ready?"

            "Yes, we are ready. First sight is said to have sightings of missing bots. We go in, do a clean sweep, and salvage what we can." Pushing them out of the clinic, Ratchet transformed.

            "Finally, the fun starts!" Rodimus shifted, revving his engine. "Who knows, we might just find Ironhide drunk and with a few pleasure bots."

            "We can only hope." Having grabbed his swords, Drift sheathed them before shifting to his alt mode. "Let's roll."

            "First sight just on the outskirts of the Dead End, b on guard, anything could happen." Ratchet rolled out first, followed closely behind by the younger warriors.

            As Drift drove, he felt his tank turn, something about this was all unsettling to him. He wasn't sure if he was afraid or just over thinking, but time would tell.


	3. Taken

Drift slammed his into the metallic door, sending it soaring across the room until it slammed against the far wall.

            Blades drawn, the tips dragged the ground, pulling along a little trail of dust as he walked.

            The warehouse was dark, quiet, and rather empty, and a quick walkthrough confirmed it was empty. Sheathing his blades, he kicked some scrap aside and sighed.

            "This one is empty too!" He shouted, listening to his own voice echo in the building. "Nothing here but old cargo and broken down buildings." Pacing around the main floor, he examined crates while he waited for Rodimus and Ratchet to come in.

            "Four down and nothing at all. Nothing! How is it possible for that many bots to just vanish? Some witnesses..." Walking around, Rodimus flashed a light into some of the rooms, only finding boxes and broken crates.

            "Don't jump the gun just yet." Ratchet said, he was kneeling by one of the walls. "Look." Flashing his light on the wall, he pointed out energon stains. "This isn't that old. Maybe a day or two?" Pulling out his medical kit from his subspace, Ratchet was quick to take a sample. "Keep looking around. There may be more, seems whoever had been here tried to clean up their mess."

            "You actually think we will find anything. That should be proof enough that there is nothing left here." The hot rod groaned but stepped out of the warehouse and looked around the outside.

            Drift knelt by Ratchet, watching him swab the energon off the wall and store it in his case.

            "Any idea who's it might belong to?"

            "Won't know until I am able to test it back at the clinic, but I do know it doesn't belong to Ironhide. It's....a strange light blue color. Practically glowing" Holding the last swab up to Drift, he showed him. "This doesn't belong to anybody we know..." Putting the swab away, they both tensed when Rodimus yelled.

            "I found something!" His voice was distance, resonating through the lots. "Hurry!"

            Quick to stand, they rushed to find Rodimus, having jogged a few more warehouses down, they burst a huge black warehouse. Rodimus was standing in the center, his flashlight shining on something jammed in the corner.

            "I...I don't want to get close to it."

            "Close to _what_?" Shoving Rodimus aside, Ratchet came to a hard halt, Drift bumping into him from behind, he stood on his toes to look over his shoulder.

            "What? What is it?"

            "Keep back a bit." Drawing a pistol, Ratchet moved closer. "Keep your light on him Rodimus." He said, slowly advancing till he was in arms length away from the body hunched against the corner. Kneeling, he examined the large hole in his lower abdomen, the glowing energon covering him.

            "Scraplets?" Drift was kneeling by ratchet now, and Rodimus stood a few feet behind them.

            "No. Not Scraplets." Reaching close, Ratchet put two fingers on the bots neck, no spark pulse. Frame cool to the touch, he had been there a while. Taking one of his hands, he examined the dead mechs fingers, which were coated in the glowing energon. "Scraplets don't leave anything behind. They eat every part of a bot. If you told me that theory a few days ago I may have believed it, with the fast there is so little evidence. But this wound...he did this to himself. Look at his hands, and the wound, the plating it pulled outwards, not in. He tore himself open. Either that or someone did a really good job of making it look that way." Taking more samples, Ratchet could hear both the young mechs shift uneasily.

            "So any idea why?"

            "Can't say. But judging from this poor sparks condition, he went through the ringer. His plating is...singed and dented. Lacerations to both legs, chestplate, arms, and probably on his back. Looks to be an addict maybe. He's not very large. Doesn't look familiar to me..." Fiddling around with the bot a little more, he stood. "Is this the only body you found?"

            "There are more on the second level. Not a lot, but a few."

            "Did they all have this similar wound?"

            "Two of them did, the other three were shot through the spark. Someone was executing them." Rodimus was looking around, kneeling and touching where he could see ped marks on the ground.

            "I'll run a scan on them. See if their coding match any of the missing bots. Finish up with the next warehouse. The faster we clear this area, the faster we can have Orion's troops clean it out. Then I can get to testing whatever this strange mutation is to their energon."

            "You going to be alright alone in here?" Drift stood with him.

            "Nothing here but the dead, I'll be fine. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes, I'll catch up with you in a moment." Waving him off, Ratchet pulled a data pad from his sub space and started scanning the bodies.

 

* * *

 

 

Rodimus crept around a corner, light on his peds, as he went deeper and deeper into the warehouse it grew darker and darker. Not to mention the fact they had been busting through buildings all day and now the it was starting to get dark.

            Creeping into a small room, Rodimus knelt down and shuffled through some broken crates, only finding junk.

            Standing back up, he knocked his head on a shelf, cursing, he rubbed the top of his head and moved on. Turning and walking into Drift, he nearly jumped out of his armor.

            "Frag Drift!" Jumping back, Rodimus hit the shelf, sending dust into the air. "Warn me before you just creep up behind me." Brushing himself off, he scowled at Drifts smug grin.

            "You had your back turned, I didn't want to waste the opportunity." Laughing, he walked out of the room, leaving Rodimus flushed and embarrassed.

            "Wait for me." Chasing after Drift, he stopped just before running into him. "What? Why are you just standing here?"

            "Shh..."

            "Wha-" Drift turned to him, a servo on his lips, motioning for him to be silent.

            "Something is here." Both falling silent for a while, their audio receptors picked up light footsteps on the floor above them.

 

* * *

 

 

Three gray mechs glanced through holes in the floor, watching Drift and Rodimus stand back to back. One let out a soft snicker as both Rodimus and Drift walked into circles around one another. Did they actually think they could protect one another like that?

            "Who are they?" One whispered, dimming down his optics so he wouldn't be seen from above. 

            "Not the boss'?" The one in the middle leaned down a little closer, trying to get a better look. "No, not the boss'. They are too shiny. To unused. Too perfect"

            "We take them..." The largest one, pulled back the one leaning over the edge. "They look like elites. The boss might like them. He _will_ like them. After the last ones we grabbed, he will be thrilled we managed to grab more."

            "Do we have the room? We already caught a few today, and that Insecticon is taking up most of the space. We might have to dump others if we want them."

            "We will make room. Get the stuff ready. When they come up here, we take them by surprise." All three bots shifted around, now purposely dragging their peds on the hard floor. "Get them quick, make little noise, there could be more around."

            Shuffling about, the two gray mechs began setting up, then slowly slipped into the shadows.

 

* * *

 

 

"Did you hear that." Drift whispered, drawing a sword. "Up..." He watched Rodimus nod and then together they moved forwards to the ramp. Both blades in hand now, Drift stopped before a large double door. Nodding to Rodimus , he rammed his foot into it, sending both door crashing down.

            Leaping in, they both stood ready, though not quite prepared for a massive light to blare at them, blinding them.

            "Frag what the hell!" Rodimus threw his arm up, trying to shield his eyes.

            Drift having been in front got the brunt of it, having dropped his blades, his covered his eyes, cursing as his optics burned from the light overload.

            A rope wrapped around both of their legs and both came crashing down onto their backs. A single shot was fired from the pistol Rodimus had in his hand. As his back slammed against the floor it was jarred from his hand and skittered out of reach.

            "Frag what the hell is happening!" Rodimus flailed, struggling to get up.

            The bright light finally dimmed and Drift made out the outlines of three bots, all standing a few paces apart. They  jumped, two landing on Drift and the largest one landing hard on Rodimus' chest, denting the plating.

            "You're coming with us pretty mechs!" The bot punched Drift across the face, drawing energon from his nose.

            "Get off me you fragger!" Two Sharp punches to the stomach and the bot reeled back enough for Drift to throw him down.

            Drawing his attention to the second bot who was trying to tie his legs together, Drift rammed his ped into his faceplate, knocking him back a ways.

            "Rodimus!" Rolling to his stomach, he was about to get up before the mech was on him again, ramming him down onto the floor, he felt it push his head down until his cheek was rubbing against the ground.

            "Drift! Help!" Rodimus rolled with the mech who was tussling with him, taking punches to the face and abdomen before he could get a few in on his own.

            "Stop fighting me you stupid flame colored fragger!" A sharp jab, and Rodimus threw his head back and screamed. Hands scrambling to his abdomen where he felt the pain, he grabbed the bots hand.

            "W-what are you-!" Pulling his head back up, he spotted the needle sticking out of his armor, slowly pushing in a light pink liquid. "Stop!" Trying to buck the bot off, he arched his back, but was easily pushed back down.

            "One down!" Rodimus barely heard as his felt his systems suddenly slowing down. Through flickering optics, everything seemed to move in slow motion. A soft whimper escaped his vocalizer when the needle was slid from his plating.

            "Dri....Drift...." Heavy, everything felt like it was holding him down and all he could do was lay there while the mech got off of him.

            Drift reared, ramming the mech on his back against the wall, hearing its plating crunching under the weight, he spun, sideswiping the mech away from Rodimus and gathering one sword in hand.

            "Rodimus!" Kneeling down by his friend, he tried to pick him up, but he as nothing but dead weight. With optics flickering on and off, he only groaned in his arms. "Come on Rodimus! Snap out of it!" He shook him but still no result.

            "He's strong..." Drift heard one of the mechs whisper behind him. "Boss will like..." A gun cocked behind him and he turned as a loud whistle and a wet smack sounded against his armor. A sharp pain in his side and he looked down.

            "Slag..." He watched as the liquid in the dart vanished into his body, to quickly for him to stop it. Gripping his one blade tightly, he growled. "You pissed off the wrong bot today." Advancing on his attackers, they all stepped back, looking at one another.

            "He's burning through it, shoot him again!" The little one elbowed the larger mech and he took aim, firing, but Drift was swift enough to block it with his blade, sending the dart skittering across the floor. He lunged, and they scattered, the larger one tossing the pistol to one of the others then ducking under Drifts next blow and colliding with him head on. Knocking Drift back a few steps, his wrist was grabbed and twisted, forcing the blade out of his hand.

            Another jab to the lower stomach had him jerking back, and this time he felt his systems struggling. Head spinning, he staggered to the side, putting a hand to his face trying to clear his mind.

            Through glossy optics, he watched as the three mechs moved in slow motion in front of him. As he staggered back, he rubbed his optics before feeling something kick out the back of his legs and he fell to his knees.

            Running and hand under his nose to wipe away the energon, he panted.

            "He's slowing down." He heard as his audio started to short out. "Hit him again." And another sharp sting to his shoulder. Trying his best to bring his hand up to remove the dart, numb servos only made it half way before falling back down.

            "R....Ratchet......Ratchet...." Wobbling, Drift rocked, falling hard onto his back.

            "Bag them and tag them. We need to hurry before anybody sees us." Was the last thing Drift heard before feeling himself being bound and dragged away.

 

* * *

 

 

            A scanner light washed over another body, and again Ratchet received a ping indicated the fallen bot was one of the reported missing. Though he found it odd that some of the bots had been reported missing years ago and were only coming to light now.

            "What the hell is going on here." Scanning another, he knelt down by another bot with a torn open cavity. "What kind of nightmare is this." As he reached his hand down, it was suddenly grasped by the body, and it jerked up and howled.

            "No! I won't go back" Energon spewed from its mouth as Ratchet was startled and fell back on his aft. Wrenching his hand free from his attacker, it fell back, seized and fell still. Optics burning out, Ratchet scanned him for a spark sign, but this time he was really gone.

            Before he could even curse, he heard a pistol shot in the distance. Standing, he brushed himself off before listening again.

            "Rodimus?" It sounded like a shot from Rodimus' pistol no doubt. If he had shot they may be in danger. Looking down at the now dead mech, he turned and ran. Sliding down the main ramp and fumbling into the main room of the warehouse, Ratchet ran outside.

            "Drift! Rodimus!" He shouted, hearing his own voice echo. He looked around, then down, seeing some foot prints leading farther into the warehouses. "Drift!" He called again. "Rodimus!" Skidding around a corner, he stopped short, seeing two bots dragging Rodimus and Drift into a trailer. Without hesitation his surgical blades slid from his hands.

            "Dri-!" A sharp blow to the back of his head and his knees gave out and he crashed down. Knocked offline, the larger mech stepped over Ratchets body, pipe in hand.

            "See I told you there were more!" He snapped at the others. "Hurry up! We need to go!"

            "Should we take him too?"

            "We don't have the time! Hurry up and load them up! We need to get out of here." Running into the back of the trailer, the mech jumped and slammed the door down. Knocking on the back of the trailer for the driver to get going.

            "The boss will be pleased. These two are in perfect condition." kneeling down by a still weary Drift, he grabbed his face, squeezing his cheeks, smirking when he groaned. "Keep them heavily sedated. I'm sure they are more than we can handle in a fair fight. Lock them in separate cells. Disarm them." Snapping his fingers, they followed his orders, throwing the two of them in small crate like cells side by side.

            Drift's back harshly rammed the back bars, rattling the cage enough to stir awake the prisoner in the cage beside him.

            "Help....help....help..." He could heard followed by a serious of soft clicks and growls. "Help....help...." Making out the large frame, laying on its side, was an insecticon. Claws digging into the bottom of the cage. It whimpered as the truck moved, shifting uneasily in the crapped cage.

            "Where are you," He inhaled a shallow breath, struggling to stay online, "taking us...." He felt hands around his neck, then a tight sensation as a collar was snapped on. Then two shackles on his wrists.

            "To your new home of course. A place where you and your friend will be most useful to us."

            "How so..." Pulling away from the mech, he glared.

            "You will find out. First you get to meet the boss, and then it only gets better from there." Shoving Drift, he slammed his cage door closed and locked it. Then repeated the process with Rodimus who was out cold. It was no surprise though, since Rodimus has no tolerance to any kind of drug, and Drift did.

            "Settle in snug my prizes, we have a long way to go!" The largest of the three mechs laughed before sliding open a door that lead into the alt mode of the drive., leaving Drift, Rodimus, and all the other prisoners alone.

            " _Frag_...."


	4. The Farm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long! I had redone it 4 times because I just wasn't sure how I wanted things to go just yet. But I feel I have gotten myself back on the right track, as well I am trying to write longer chapters as well! (Trying) Thank you guys for being so patient with me I really appreciate it, and as always if you spot typos, forgive me, I will edit them out once I get the chance.

The cages rattled together as the truck hit uneven terrain, jostling Drift out of his recharge. With a frustrated groan, he rubbed the back of his head and leaned forwards. Frame an aching mess, he focused his optics, trying to adjust to the dark.  He had to duck is head down a bit, the cage was much too small for him to stand in, let alone sit up straight. Incredibly uncomfortable and agitated, he glanced over to where Rodimus' cage was.

            A hard wince when he saw the hot rod squished into a cage just as small as his. Leaning against one of the walls, his head was lulled down, optics barely lit.

            "Roddy." Drift tried to whisper over all of the chains and bars rattling. "Roddy!" A little louder this time and he heard the insecticon to the side of him shift and click. It grunted and kicked the side of the cage closest to Drift. Both cells rattled, and Drift kicked back in frustration.

            "Mhm..." Rodimus grunted, optics brightening slightly, though he didn't look up.

            "Rodimus!" Pressing himself up against the bars, he tried to reach for Rodimus but came up far too short. "Come on Roddy wake up!" He wasn't at all surprised when he watched  Rodimus lean forwards then fall back, exhausted. A part of him felt bad he had worked up such a tolerance to booster and represents. because Rodimus hadn't. He could only imagine how heavy he was feeling. If anything, he would probably feel like hell later when the tranq finally wore off.

            "Frag..." Slamming his back against his cell, he kicked the bars, cursing a few more times before settling back down. For a long time he remained silent, trying to figure out how many other bots had been captured along with them. So far, he counted about six others in cells just like his. All except one were knocked out, though the one online, had his back to Drift.

            The truck hit a bump and Drift's head hit the top of his cell and he cursed, kicking his bars in frustration before grabbing at his collar and yanking on it.

            "Don't do that." He heard the bot from across the trailer say suddenly. A pair of dull golden optics shown as he looked over his bulky shoulder. Drift was unable to make out any defining features in such low light, but he just kept yanking on the thing.

            "It's annoying." Unable to even get his fingers under it, he tried to slide it, but it seemed magnetized to the spot on his neck. "Damn thing is to tight." He tried the shackles around his arms now, but the result was the same.

            "If you keep messing with them they will shock you." The bit turned back, his eyes now longer visible now. "And not a warning shock either. One strong enough to known you offline for a while. Trust me."

            "What else do I have to do..." Banging his cuffs against the cell bars, they drew sparks but never loosened. "Who are you anyway. Do you have any idea where we are going?"

            "Who I am is not important anymore. Our names don't matter here, or where we are headed," Shifting, the bot turned, though a large shadow hiding his face from Drift. "We're going to the Factory. A place where smugglers, slavers, and the scum of the universe go. We belong to the slavers now. Judging from your shiny new armor, you were just captured."

            "That obvious huh..." Finally, Drift gave up with his shackled and leaned back, slouching a bit and pouting. "So what happens when we get to this....Factory?"

            "System Recall is what happens to most." The bot shifted, his joints creaking loudly as he sighed. "It's where they take bots to be broken. Turned into proper slaves...pleasurebots. Or whatever their buyers want them to be. Recently though...something has changed. Things haven't been right...they are doing something new to their slaves they bring in."

            "Yeah? How do you know all of this?" There was an awkward moment of silence before the bot leaned forwards, reveling his face with a large scar sliced over his face.

            "This isn't my first time going to the Factory. Most get sent back when they do something their master do not like. The Factory will either re-break you, or kill you. But that was before whatever they are doing now. Recently they have been on the hunt for larger, stronger, and faster bots. Much like yourself in fact. For what I am unsure. I can only imagine it is something big if they are going after autobots now. I thought the autobots were smart enough to not be captured by slavers." The mech laughed and sank back into the shadows, enjoying the sour look on Drift face.

            "Those little fraggers jumped us!" He only heard more laughter. "yeah laugh it up...will see how long you are laughing when I bust out of this joint." The laughter suddenly stopped, and the golden eyes returned to views.

            "If you know what's good for you, you will do what you are told. Trying to escape is the worse idea you will ever have now that you are going to the Factory." The bots tone was a solid line now. "Heed my warning sparkiling...don't do anything stupid. You will pay for it dearly. This...I can assure you of."

            "Whatever..." Scoffing, Drift hunkered down, his systems still groggy from the darts earlier.  "We're going to get out of here no matter what." Offlining his optics, he forced himself into recharge. Some part of him hoped this was a cruel dream and he would wake up on a warm berth next to Ratchet. That stupid pout he always had when he would play with his helm decorations. His angry grunts...soft kisses....tender grasps and soft groans....

            Shaking his head, a part of his spark broke when he realized Ratchet was still back at the warehouses, no doubt worried sick about them. In fact he was probably cursing them out, saying how stupid they had been for being captured in the first place. He did warn them to be careful, yet here he was. Alone.

 

* * *

 

 

Ratchet's optics flickered online, dimmed and slowly getting brighter as his systems began to restart. Warns flashed on his hud, and he took a long moment before finally shifting on the ground. It took him a moment to get to his feet, but when he did he staggered a step before rubbing the back of his head and groaning.

            "What the frag..." Trying to recall what had happened, he looked around. Everything was quiet, no sign of anyone around him. "Drift?" Walking a few paces, he noticed tire marks on the ground, and it all came crashing back. The gun fire, the sound of Drift yelling for him, seeing him being dragged into the trailer, it all came to him. Panic flooded him, and for a moment he just stood there before typing a few things into his arm console.

            "Orion Pax, do you read me? This is Medical Officer Ratchet. I have an emergency, please respond!" There was a long moment of silence before a hologram of Orion popped up above his arm.

            "I hear you friend. What is wrong."

            "They took Drift and Rodimus! Whoever has been out abducting mechs has just grabbed those two. I saw them taking them into a trailer. I didn't have time to get to them before one of them sucker punched me from behind." He was speaking fast while following the tread marks on the ground until they vanished. "Slag!"

            "Did you see who any of them were?"

            " There must have been three total. Two who took Drift and Rodimus, and the one who his me. They were small, though not minicons. I need you to send out a search team. Maybe they are still somewhere in the area if we can get out fast enough. They have to be!" he paced, his spark feeling heavy for allowing something like this to happen. He shouldn't have let them go off alone. "Something is happening here Orion, something really bad. We found a few bodies. All dead. Some strange substance is running through their lines and they all show signs of self inflicted harm among other injuries. I have a few samples I am going to test once I get back, but nothing looks good. Nothing looks good at all. Whoever is responsible for this has been dumping the bodies in various locations. I'm not sure why yet, but I don't foresee it going well for the others if we don't find them in time."

            "I'll get a few teams ready and send them out and have them search the next few grid sections. In the meantime, get back to the clinic or someplace safe, just in case they try to return and take you as well. I will talk to you in person when I have news. Orion out." The hologram vanished and Ratchet dropped his arm, looking up into the sky, he shuttered his optics before rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was a disaster, how could he let something like this happen. He should have been with them. Now he could only hope they could handle themselves long enough for him to find them. If he could.

_I'm coming Drift...just hold on._

 

* * *

 

 

Drift was awake by the time he felt the trailer lurch to a stop, and by now Rodimus was alert enough to make small conversation.

            "Where do you think we are?" Rodimus rubbed his sore shoulders, trying to see Drift through the darkness but only making out part of his legs and bright optics.

            "Still on Cybertron that's for sure. As of where, I have no clue. We have been traveling for hours. Could be anywhere, except close to home." He jerked back when the trailer door was slid open, and a bright light blinded them.

            "Rise and shine fresh metal." One of the mechs came in and banged a prod against the call bars, causing such a racket that even the insecticon groaned. "Time for the line up!" Punching a button on the side of the trailer wall, all the cell doors opened slowly.

            Climbing out, Drift felt every joint in his body scream with agony after having been crunched up for so long. Standing with hunch, he was relieved when he got a moment to stretch. Unfortunately it was short lived when the shackles on his hands magnetized together and he was suddenly connected by a tether. Each of the prisoners connected to one another, he was not stuck behind Rodimus who glanced back at him, not sure what to do now.

            "Just go with it..." Drift whispered, "We make a move when we aren't connected." He felt a sharp tug on his back and saw the bot he was talking to earlier glaring at him.

            "Don't." He warned, not fully visible. He couldn't have been much older than Drift himself, though he looked aged and weathered. His armor scuffed and dented, showing no signs of having been treated for shined in ages. He looked like he had gone through the ringer. "You will only make things worse for yourself. Just accept your fate." he was jerked forwards when Drift moved, glaring at him.

            "You can just give up all you want, but I'm not staying here. I have someone who is looking for me."

            "They won't find you. Not now."

            "You don't know how determined Ratchet can be." Turning to face forwards, Drift followed the line as they were all lead into a building. Growling when he realized that the trailer had backed into a building, there was no way for Drift to tell what section of Cybertron they were in now.          

            Walking through a few halls, they were brought into a large room, bot were crowded on both sides, watching the new metal come in. There was soft chatter that grew into taunts at them as they marched, some even reached out and touched them. One grabbed Rodimus by the aft and he jerked away, snapping at them angrily. He nearly bumped into the mech in front of him when he suddenly stopped.

            The mech with the prod slapped them on the back of their legs, earning several shouts and hisses as they moved to stand side by side one another before noticing a huge purple mech standing in the center of the room.

 Silence suddenly washed over the room as the mech raised his hand to his crowd. Sinister red optics glistening and a low laughed escaped him as he stepped forward, each causing the ground to tremble.

            "I must commend you on what lovely catches you have brought me this time my triplets." Walking down the line, he kept his arms behind his back. Looking over each of the mechs, he passed them until he reached Drift, then glanced at Rodimus. "Yes, a very fine catch this time." A clawed hand came out and grabbed Drift's cheek, squeezing them together a moment before he yanked away.

            "Frag off!" He spat at him and then suddenly his optics erupted into stars as the mech backhanded him.

            Rodimus along with the bot to the left of Drift were yanked down as he fell, their arms still bound to one another, the struggled to stay standing. Both had to haul Drift back up, and they both watched him shake his head, his cheek now bused from the blow.

            "Spirited aren't we." His optics glistened at the sinister look drift shot him. "Not for long though." He turned when one of the triplets walked up to him.

            "Tarn, the holding cells are ready when you are."

            "Excellent. Take the insecticon to the pit champers and have him suited for battle. Let's hope we caught a winner this time." Tarn clapped his hands together then stepped away from the line.  "For those of you who are new here, let me explain how we run things," He was pacing a a bit before stopping in the middle of them, "You are now my property. You belong to me and only me and you will do what I require of you or you will be thrown in the pit. Or you will be part of our little science project, which some of you are going to be lucky enough to be part of anyway. How exciting!" He snapped several times before one of the triplets brought out a rather ill looking mech.

            The mech's optics were dimmed, glossy and barely able to stay online as he wobbled in place. Both hands shackled behind him, he dropped to his knees before Tarn yanked him up.

            "This, is our latest break through. As you all now, Cyberton is running out of energy. With the planet no longer creating it, we have had to find...other ways of doing so." Holding the mech by the arm, he pulled him closer to the line.

            Drift noticed something off, he was as thin as a rail except for his mid section, which was budged out slightly. As Tarn forced the mech closer, he could see blue liquid streaming down from between its legs. Each stepped seemed agonizing for him.

            "Luckily, we have solved the problem...though it requires a host, which will be those who pass the requirements of the procedure." Bending down slightly, he traced a claw over the bots bloated abdomen. "You see, when a sparkling is created, it is made up of raw energy. Though, of course over time it becomes a fully fledged spark and when born, from one of us, makes its way to the well of allsparks where is obtains its form and is born out into our world. But, having managed to harness the spark before it reaches maturity, we can get it to crystallize, like so-" Reaching down, Tarn unclasped the mechs valve cover and forced two talons in.

            The mech took a step, wincing through bared denta and whimpering as Tarn pulled something free from inside of him. Holding it up for those to see, it was a perfectly round blue crystal, coated in that blue liquid Ratchet had found. It was rather small, no larger than his palm, if anything it was only two thirds the size of a normal spark.

            Tarn suddenly crushed it in his hand, a large amount of the blue liquid squirting out between his fingers.

            "Instant energy, and to make it even better, it is more potent. It can charge you for days on end, make you stronger, faster, more keen on your surroundings. And I am sure you all know how sparklings are created so you should be aware of the second step after you pass the requirements."

            "You can't be serious..." Rodimus snapped, pulling on the restraining tether, and dragging the others a step before one of the triplets held the prod up to him. "We are not your fragging spark factories!" He started to struggle, and Drift recognized the panic growing on his face. He was jarred as Rodimus yanked on the bounds.

            "Mhh, well no need to worry my pet, not all bots will make it through the requirements. In fact the serum causes most of them to go crazy or it just out right kills them. Those who survive are the lucky ones. In fact the last group I had, I had about twelve for my little harvest. But only three lived through the procedure." He laughed when he saw the look of horror on the Hot Rods face. "Go now, start preparing them. Tomorrow we start the new cycle and ditch the failures. Make sure they are ready." He watched the tallest Triplet nod before yanking on the lead and prodding Rodimus to get him moving again.

            "Drift we have to get out of here!" Rodimus tried pulling away again but the electrical prod jabbed his back, and he cried out, jumping forwards in line.

            "I know...but we can't do anything about it like this...." He tried to whisper, but was jabbed as well.

            "Quiet!" Suddenly the tethers were gone and they were all shoved into cells, though they were large enough to stand in and even lay in. Each slave had their own and luckily Rodimus was placed next to Drift.

            As the gates slammed shut, their wrists demagnetized and they all were free to roam around their new home. There was nothing but blanket squished into the corner, no doubt the place they were expected to recharge from now on.

            "What I wouldn't give to have Ratchet right here right now." A hand came up and touched his swollen cheek, earning a loud hiss as he touched the tender metal. "Fragger hits like a wrecker...."

            "Drift, what do we do?"

            "We wait for our moment. I'll tell you when, but the best thing to do now, is to just rest. No point in fighting when we both got almost no real recharge last night." It took a while but Rodimus finally stopped pacing and laid down on his own blanket, and just stared at the ceiling.

            "Do you really think Ratchet will find us. I mean we couldn't even find the others. How is he supposed to find us?" He heard his friend say as he laid down himself, though he faced the wall.

            "He will, If I had to rely on somebot to find us, it would be him. So just recharge. Tomorrow we get the frag out of here."

            "I hope so...no way I'm becoming some earth cow to be milked." He tried to sound optimistic but he couldn't help it when his vocalize shorted out. "....I just hope you're right Drift."


	5. Stage One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for taking so long, but My Semester is over! I am now on winter break and have plenty of time to update now!

A loud buzzer sounded and the sound of Drift cell door clattering open followed closely after. Before Drift could get his optics online, four rough hands grabbed him and hauled him up as the cuffs around his wrists magnetized together.

            Once on his feet, he looked over to Rodimus' cell, where he was getting the same treatment before being dragged down the hall.

            "What are you doing?" Trying to pull away, he was prodded until he started to walk, though he was taken in the opposite direction as Rodimus.

            "Time to get you processed, that's what's happening fresh metal." The prod came again and he jerked forwards, nearly falling.

            Making sure to keep the pace with one of the bots in front of him, he fidgeted with his cuffs while mentally mapping out where they were headed. If Rodimus and him were to escape, he had better know where the hell he was going rather they be running around in circles.

            A sharp turn and Drift was shoved into a room that was rather cramped. A single berth was in the center, and Drift had spent enough time around Ratchet to know it was a medical grade table.

            Putting on the brakes, he looked over his shoulder at the two bots who had been escorting him. Only turning back around when he felt the presence of a third bot did he turn back to face into the room.

            "This the one?" A stout pale yellow bot stepped forwards and leaning in to look at Drift. As he leaned forwards Drift leaned back and raised an Optic ridge. "Looks in great condition."

            "Just get it over with. He's unpredictable, so be careful with him. If you need us we will be outside." Shoving Drift one more time, the escorts left.

            "Welcome." The yellow bot bowed slightly.

            "Hardly..." Drift looked around, trying to find some way out, but the only way was the door they went through and it had now been tightly sealed behind him.

            The yellow mech chuckled before shuffling around with a few tools on a counter.

            "Lay on the berth." He said over his shoulder, preparing a tray of some sort. "Then we can get started."

            Drift scoffed, yanking at the cuffs in another attempt to try and break them. Stopping when the yellow mech turned and faced him.

            "Need help?" Pressing a command on his arm consol, Drifts cuffs demagnetized. "Now, on the berth table please." Grabbing his tray, Drift felt his spark suddenly race when he saw all of the tools.

            "What exactly happens...when I do?"

            "I prep you. See if you are fit for the Crystal Serum. If your body can handle the strain, you move onto the second phase." He watched Drift take another step back when he approached.  "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact I am probably one of the only bots here who has any sanity left."

            "What is the second phase exactly...."

            "Conception. Which is either done by a buyer, or one of the mechs that work in the facility here. You will be put up on an auction if the serum takes effect on you."

            "And if it doesn't?"

            "Normally, when it doesn't take, the mech dies, or they go to the pits and fight."

            "Right, so I either become an interfacing slave or a slave of the pit." He watched the bot shrug before gesturing to the table, a little impatient now. "I don't think so."

            "Listen, either you do as I say, or I get the two in the hall to put you on the table, and I am much nicer than them."

            Continuing to be stubborn for a few more minutes, Drift finally sighed and sat on the berth. The last thing he wanted right now was to get beaten with his arms behind his back and forced onto the table anyway.

            "Good. Now, drink this." Holding up a glass of a dark gray liquid to Drift, the bot put it in his hand. "All of it."

            "What is it?" Sniffing it, he wasn't surprised when it had no scent to it. Was this the drug? Could it really have been that easy. He had figured it would have been a much more grueling procedure after seeing the pregnant bots state earlier.

            "Something for your tanks. I can't start until you drink it." Pushing the glass to Drift's lips.

            Sucking it down, his face twisted as a horrid taste filled his mouth and he gagged. He grabbed his throat and handed the glass back to the doc bot.

            "I get that reaction a lot." Setting the glass down, he waited a moment, watching Drift slowly turn an even paler color than he already was. His tank turned and he felt nauseous almost instantly. He tried to place a hand over his mouth , but it was too late. As he puked over the side of the table, the doc bot guided him to a grate in the floor that all of the cycled energon seeped into.    

            "Excellent, now we can start." Shoving down onto his back, he felt his cuffs magnetize to the table.

            "What the frag was that for!?" Still to nauseous to pull with any real strength, he slammed his head against the back of the table in protest. His struggling stopped when the doc loomed over him, sticking nodes on the sides of his head, chest, and neck. "What are you doing? Let me up!"

            "No can do." Flipping on a spark monitor, the doc bot moved around the room. "Once the serum is administered, you must stay restrained. The side effects are...intense to say the least." The spark monitor jumped and Drift tried his best to get free. Back arching off the table, he instantly slammed it back down when the doc bot put his hands on his abdomen. "Don't touch me!"  He snarled and looked up.

            "Listen, the faster this is over with, the sooner I can leave you alone. So be a good bot and just lay still. It will only be worse on yourself if you move for this next part."

            Drift's optics shrank when he saw the doc bot pick up a syringe with a huge needle sticking from it. If he had to guess it was a good six or seven inches long. In it glowed the familiar blue liquid.

            "Y-You can't stick me with that...." His voice cracked and he felt the wave of nausea come crashing back over him.

            "If you hold still it won't hurt as much..." Flicking the syringe, some of the liquid spurted from the top.

            "Primus, Ratchet where are you when I need you." The spark monitor picked up again and so did Drift's breathing. He started to yank at his arms.

            "Don't worry, this isn't going into your arm. It needs to be placed directly into your chamber. From there it will absorbed into the walls, creating the perfect space for the crystals to grow but never mature into sparklings." A hand splayed on Drifts belly, and he felt the plating twitch under the touch.

            "Don't do this!" Looking up, he watched as the mech swabbed his abdominal plating.

            "I suggest you not watch." The doc bot leaned over, pressing a finger to the point he was going to jab Drift. "Try not to faint on me." He felt Drift try to suck in his stomach the best he could as the needle came down.

            As it pierced the plating, Drift cried out, his hands clenching into fists. Unable to stop himself, he looked up, watching as the needle sank deeper and deeper. As it pushed into his chamber, he wailed. The unholy sting radiating through his spine.

            "Primus _stop_!"

            "Almost done." Pushing the plunger, the blue liquid was dispensed and slowly, the needle was retracted. Pressing a small cloth to the point of injection, he pushed hard to stop the bleeding from the little entry wound. "There, that wasn't so bad was it." A small laugh.

            "Gah....uhhrp-" Turning his head, Drift gagged as he dry heaved, his tank turning in disgust.

            His spark sank when he realized Rodimus was no doubt getting the same treatment. He wondered if he would even get a chance to see him again. That was if neither of them died to the serum.

            _Ratchet...._

Optics blinking on and offline, he felt his chamber burning, and all he could do was squirm on the table.

            "Try not to die. You are one of the best looking stock they have brought in in a while." Placing a wet cloth on Drifts forehead, the doc bot then sat down and waited. "It only takes a few hours to take effect. Once I get the results, I can ship you back to your cell." Pulling up a datapad, the doc began to read while Drift just lay there staring at the ceiling.

            The room began to swirl, slow at first until it became a mass of colors and Drift whimper. Shifting slightly, he hissed when his belly burned. Frame feeling heavy, he tried to move his hands, worried when he couldn't feel them.

            _Am I going to die?_

Coolant streamed down the sides of his face as his frame heated up, a part of him thankful for the cool cloth on his head. Though after a short time it wasn't enough. His entire body felt on fire, and he squirmed more and more until he felt the color around his neck magnetize to the table as well.

            He tried to speak, but his vocalize only released pops and muffled static. Movement was now no longer an option and he hadn't even realized his optics had offlined.

            Alone in the dark, he tried to cry out again.

            _Ratchet....forgive me._

            The doc bot leaned over Drift, gently wiping away energon that was seeping out of the samurais nose. Flashing a light into Drifts dark optics, he simply grunted when Drift entire form started to rattle. It progressively became more violent until Drift himself started to gag.

            Placing two fingers to Drifts neck, the doc bot waited, this was the part a bot either lived or system crashed and died.

            The spark monitor was beeping rapidly before settling to a steady pulse.

            "Excellent." Drawing some energon from Drifts neck, he tested it and was rather pleased his energon was the bright blue color. "He took." Demagnetizing Drift, he called for the bots in the hall to take him back to his cell.

            With Drift out cold, they had to drag him by his arms.

           

* * *

 

 

Ratchet slammed his hands down on Magnus' desk, rattling all of his data pads and paper stacks.

            "We _have_ to go after them! I can't just stand around and wait for the search teams to do exactly what I did!"

            "Ratchet," Magnus stood up behind his desk, "I understand your concerns, but we can't just waste precious resources on searching for them when there was no _trail_ to follow."

            "Then we go and we work undercover! Go to bars, go to the pits, someplace to get information, _somebot_ has to know something!"

            "Ratchet, that kind of detective work always ends badly. You are just going to have to wait until we have hard evidence. Catch them in the act-" Magnus fell silent when Ratchet swept his arms across his desk, sending all the papers and pads flying.

            "Drift was taken _in the act_!" He slammed his fist down on the desk again. "Rodimus as well! Both of them! Two of your best soldiers, taken, and we don't know what is happening to them."

            Magnus rubbed the bridge of his nose before he sighed. Walking around his desk, he put a large hand on the medics shoulder, squeezing gently.

            "Ratchet, I know you are worried about them, but rushing into this could do them more harm than good. If this is connected to the other bots vanishing, we have to be careful and track this. They will mess up and that is when we will get them. We just have to wait it out. I know it is not the answer you want to here, but it is the best I can offer right now." He watched ratchet look down and clench his hands.

            "Drift and Rodimus may not have time." Brushing off Magnus' hand, he turned to leave.

            "Ratchet," He heard Magnus say from behind him, "Don't do anything rash. I don't want to have to confine you. We cannot afford to lose someone like you." He sighed when the door to his office slammed shut. "What the hell is going on around here..."

 

* * *

 

 

Drift peaked open one optic, having to reset them several times before he could finally make out that he was back in his cell. Laying face down, the cool floor felt marvelous on his burning cheeks.     

            Laying there a while, he shifted, whimpering when his stomach turned and zapped him with pain. A painful reminder of what had happened.

            _I'm alive..._

            Not sure if he should be happy about it, he rolled onto his side, blinking his optics a few times before seeing Rodimus laying face down in his cell.

            "R-Rodimus..." He croaked, his voice mostly static. "Rodimus...." No movement, and his tank sank in terror.

            Rolling back onto his stomach, Drift painstakingly dragged himself across the cell until he grabbed the bars that separated his cell from Rodimus'. Pressing himself against it as much as he could, he slid his arm through, trying to reach the hot rod.

            His fingers grazed Rodimus' hand, and he kept stretching until his joints screamed. Grasping his fingers, he squeezed hard.

            "Nnh...." The fingers twitched, and Drift exhaled a large breath he was holding in before putting his face to the floor.

            "Thank Primus....he's alive." He whispered, pulling his arm back and curling up into a ball before dimming his optics out.

            He tried to ignore the empty cells around him, knowing that the others probably hadn't survived the procedure.

            His tank turned and he whined, both hungry and ill, he just tried to slip himself into recharge. Trying not to think that the next time he was taken from the cell he would be forced into housing someone's crystals.

            Memories of when he lived in the Dead End flooded back to him. Back to the days he was nothing but a leaker and a pleasurebot. Back when he didn't care if he died. Back when being forced to interface was just an everyday thing to survive.  

            Biting his bottom lip when it quivered, he offlined his optics and thought back to when Ratchet first found him. Nearly fried out on boosters, Ratchet spend hours getting him back to working condition. His life only improved from there.

            _I hope you're safe..._

Finally, after hours of rolling around clutching his stomach, Drift finally slipped into a light recharge. He was going to need it.


	6. One by One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -flips laptop- Alllllllllll riiiiiight theeeeeeen

Drifts tank rolled, and he was pulled from his recharge with a loud whine. Another roll and he himself flopped over onto his back before wrapping his arms around his belly.

            “Frag….what is happening.” Beads of coolant speckled his faceplate, some streaming down as he squirmed around. Each turn of his tank send horrible waves of discomfort through his frame. It seemed to go on for hours until it subsided to nothing more than a dull ache.

            “Hey,” He heard from behind him, “You alright?” Glancing over his shoulder, he could just barely make out Rodimus in the low light. His optics were dimmed down and he was whispering, trying not to catch the attention of the guards they walked up and down the cell lineup.

            “I have been better.” Slowly, Drift sat himself up and moved close to the bars, facing Rodimus. “Are  _you_  alright?” He asked, noticing the same ill look on the young primes face.

            “Ah…well I feel like slag, but other than that I’m still online.” He managed a small smile before his tank let out a low rumble. “Did they make you drink some weird liquid?”

            “Yeah, made me purge my tank”

            “Same.” Leaning back slightly, he rubbed the side of his neck.

            “At least we survived the first part.” Drift tilted his head, using a finial to point to several empty cells around them. “Seems others were not as lucky we were.”

            “I wouldn’t be so sure. I didn’t pass.”

            “What?”

            “Whatever the drug is…it didn’t take to my body. They said since I lived…I would be auctioned off or put into the pits to fight for them. I don’t know what could be worse; having passed and being a factory for energon, somebot else’s pleasurebot, or a pit fighter with no real victory.”

            “We make our move today then. We cannot afford to be separated. When I give the queue, just follow my lead.”

            “If this place doesn’t kill us, Ratchet surly will.” He saw Drift smirk before leaning back against the cell wall, grimacing when his tank rolled again.

            “How low are you on fuel?”

            “I’ll slide below 50% in the next few hours, which is why it is important we move quickly. If they are doing what I think they are doing, they will starve us to the point we are to weak to fight back. Time is against us Rodimus.”

            “I know. Just tell me when and I will do what I can to bust us out of this hell hole.”

            “The next chance we get out of these cells, that is when. Hopefully if we can cause enough havoc, the other captives will join in.”

            “Do you think Iron Hide is here somewhere?”

            “Doubt it.” Picking dirt from his arm guard, Drift stretched his legs. “There are more than just one of these places out the. Chop shots, Pleasurebot trading houses, mixes of the two. He could be anyplace. It’s hard to tell. First off, we need to figure out where we are. We could be sitting right under Orion this whole time.”

            “Primus I hope so.” Looking back at Drift, he watched a large glob of coolant stream down the side of his face. “Are you sure you’re alright…you don’t look well.”

            “I’m fine, just sore from the….you know.”

            “Yeah…” They both fell quiet for a long time and at one point Rodimus fell into recharge sitting up, leaving Drift alone.

 

* * *

 

Ratchet spread walked around First Aid, bumping shoulders with him and dropping a few of the rolled up scrolls he had.

            “Ratchet-” Leaning down and picking up what he had dropped; he followed the CMO into the main conference room of the clinic.

            Throwing down everything he had, he started to sort things out, taking the scrolls from First Aid when he handed them to him, not looking at him. Optics to fixed on the map of the area, he started to mark down little dots.

            “What are you trying to do?” He tried to ignore the large bottle of High Grade that was also on the table, and a glass they seemed to have already been used several times.

            “Mapping out all of the recent abductions, trying to find some sort of…pattern.” He kept going, still keeping his back to First Aid.

            “Ratchet, this is something we cannot get involved in-” A hard fist came down on the table, and First Aid jumped.

            “I became involved in it when two of my best were taken during my watch.” His optics flashed with anger before turning back to the map.

            “It’s not that…I don’t think you shouldn’t be worried about them. It’s just that…if you happen to go out and try and find those two and  _you_ get taken next, we will be down a key player here.” He stepped back when Ratchet stood up strait, a rather furious look on his faceplate. His optics were locked on the map, and the scattered dots. Not a single one lined up to form any kind of pattern. Another hard fist on the table and he growled.

            “Why…” His frame started to rise up and down quickly, and a rage washed over him until he threw everything from the table. “It doesn’t make sense! Where could they have been taken! None of the abduction points even lead to any clues, and their not all in dangerous areas. Whoever is doing this…” He gritted his denta, balling his hands into fists. “I’m going to kill them.”

            “Ratchet, listens to me; I know you care about Drift and Rodimus, and they have a very good chance of being found with you looking for them. But,” He took another step back when Ratchet turned and faced him, nothing like an angry medic, “if you go about this recklessly…and get yourself killed, I don’t think we have a chance. I’m not asking you to not look, I’m asking you to just be careful.” He watched Ratchets shoulders droop, his rage escaping him when his vents let out a loud sigh.

            “I know kid…I know.” Turning back, Ratchet picked up another map and set it down; starting to draw more dots.

 **“** It wasn’t you’re fault…” Ratchet’s plating tightened and he hesitated. “Don’t blame yourself. It could have happened to any of us.”

            “I should have been there.” Reaching into his subspace, he held up the vile of blue liquid to his little intern. “Do me a favor and examine this _thoroughly._ ” Passing off the vile off, he watched for a moment as First Aid held it close to his optics, looking through.

            “Any idea what it might be?”

            “Something that made all those bodies we found pull apart their own abdomens. Treat it with care, don’t get any on you. Run every test you can think of on it, and report back to me tonight.”

            “What are you planning?”

            “I’ll tell you later,” Picking up a data pad, Ratchet scrolled through the news feed, “Also, contact Perceptor for me. Tell him I need him here as soon as possible, and Blurr. Tell them it’s urgent.”

            First Aid nodded to him before exiting the room, letting the door slide closed behind him he sighed. Worried, he moved along the halls, keeping the vile tight in his hand he entered the lab and sat down.

            “I hope you know what you’re doing Ratchet.”

 

* * *

 

 

Tarn paced up and down the cell block, hands tucked behind his back as he looked into each cage. Grunting when he saw Drift and Rodimus still alive, he turned and paced back the other direction before his voice boomed.

            “Congratulations my lovely stock, you have survived the first round.” He stopped when he was in the center of the call, stomping his foot to wake the other slaves. “The next stage is the sorting stage and evaluations of your conditions. Thoughs of you who have become part of the Harvest will be brought to be sowed. Those of you who have failed the first stage will be evaluated for auction and pit fights.”Turning, he paced to the top of the hall. “The cell doors will open and you will all come out and stand in line and we shall begin.” Nodding to his minions, they pressed large button and a loud buzzer sounded. Each cell door slammed open, and it seemed nobody wanted to come out right away.

            “Now?” Rodimus whispered as he stood.

            “Not yet…to confined, not enough room.” Slowly hauling himself to his peds, he put a hand on his stomach, wincing when it burned. “Just watch me.” Stepping outside into the hall, he fell in line like the rest. His cuffs magnetized in front of him, no surprise, but at least this time they were not all connected to one another.

            “Move it!” One of the little cons hissed and kicked a bot as they filed out of the cell block. Following close behind one another, they all proceeded through several halls before into a main show room. They where lead up a small stage, not even knee high off the ground and lined up side by side one another.

            "Excellent! Excellent." A Ratchet middle sized bot stepped forwards, clasping his hands together. "What a lovely catch we have today, might I say."

            "Enough Swindle....just do your job." Tarn pressed past him and stood before the lineup.

            "Alright alright....let me see." Taking a datapad he  flicked through it, looking up now and then at a few bots, then Drift.

            "Not as many to Harvest this time." Rubbing under his chin, he shrugged. "Well at least this batch actually had survivors." He laughed, before stepping behind the line of bots.

            Drift glanced at Rodimus, and for a moment he thought he could see his plating shaking but when he noticed Drift he stood strait.

            He tensed again when he felt Swindle behind him.

            "Two new Autobots, and in pretty good shape. Normally we drag you in here in pieces." A hard slap to the aft and Rodimus jerked forwards, whirling around and glaring down at the mech.

            "Do that again and I'll shove my fist up your tailpipe!"

            "Tsk, if only I had a credit for every time that was said to me." He shoved Rodimus back in line then moved onto Drift.

            "I think I like your record the best.... _Deadlock_." He smirked at the visible disgust on Drifts face. His face scrunched in a growl just before his leg came up and rammed right into Swindles stomach.

            " _NOW_ RODIMUS!" A quick roundhouse kick, and Swindle was thrown back before he could recover.

            Rodimus threw himself forwards, taking out one of the advancing mini bots. Struggling to get much momentum with the cuffs still bounding him, he figured me might as well make himself a Wrecker.

            Ramming the mini bot, the two of them went down hard, and Rodimus found himself on top, his hands wrapped around its throat as it struggled against him.

            "Scatter!" Drift shouted to the others, already seeing them jumping from the small stage. It was utter chaos in a matter of seconds. Bots beating on each other, Drift shoved his way around until he found Rodimus on his back getting a rather hard beating from two minibots.

            "Hold on!" Launching himself into the air above all the rest, extending his leg and coming down hard on one of the bots.

            It was thrown away, clattering to the ground and rolling a bit before several other slaves took over for him.

            "Enough!" Tarns voice boomed over the racket, though nobody stopped. "I said _enough!_ " Drift and all of the other slaves suddenly jerked, hands grasping at the collars as an electrical current rocked their systems.

            "Gah!" Rodimus and a few other dropped to their knees, their servos clenching their collars in a desperate attempt to break it off.

            "Grk!" Drift remained standing, one optic shut, he stood legs apart, trying to stay up. "N-no!" He snapped, every circuit in his body screaming as he watched all his fellow slaves wither on the ground.

            "Increase the flow." Tarn raised an optic ridge, watching Drift take a step towards him.

Drift dropped to one knee, wailing as the electrical current rippled through him. The Autobot badge on his chest burned bright before bursting out.

            "No!" He snarled, slowly, getting back to his feet, his plating twitched and rattled. It took all of his will power to move one step, then one more.

            "Hmm." Tarn watched, until Drift dropped to one knee again. He held his hand up, signaling for the minbots to cut the current.

            Drift frame relaxed, his rattling plating falling still while steam wafted off his frame. Panting hard, he looked up, his optics glitching.

            "I _like_ this one." Stepping down, Tarn walked before Drift, looming over him. "You're one of the Harvests stocks are you not?" Circling around Drift while he slouched a bit, he heard him snicker. "I admire your effort, but you won't get away. There is no way out of here for you now and it will do you good to do as you are told." Stopping in front of Drift again, he put a talon under his chin, forcing his head up. His body was scalding to the touch, and the look of pained anger on his face made Tarn smirk.

            "Drift get back!" Rodimus cried as he was shoved back into line with the others, this time prods pointing in on him. "Drift!" He was pushed far away, now creating a huge opening in the room.

            "I haven't seen a bot with your kind of bearings in a long....long time. That look of anger, the look to kill. Show me it again." Snapping, he was handed something, which he shoved against Drifts chest.

            He grabbed the hilt of his long sword, gripping it hard before Tarn stepped back from him.

            "I'll strike you a deal. If you can beat me in battle. I'll let you go free." Tarn heard his guards and slaves stir. "If you _lose_ , you become my _personal_ stock bot." Shaking his frame, his armor rattled and he stood ready.

            "So.....Nng...be it." Using the Sword to help him stand, he pressed a free hand to his aching belly. his tank turned, and his face nearly turned green.

            "Drift don't! Don't do it!" Thrashing, Rodimus was prodded till he dropped to his knees. "Drift!"

            Rising his sword, Drift closed his optics and exhaled, centering himself. Leaning forwards, he was gone, a flash of white and red light and a loud clang followed.

            Sparks flew as Drifts sword bounced off Tarns arm guard. He twisted, whirling around and trying to slice over Tarns side before a large hand grabbed his abdomen, the large servos nearly wrapping all the way around it.

            A hard squeeze and Drift cried out in agony before he was yanked close, his faceplate bouncing off of Tarns mask.

            "I do _enjoy_ breaking the sparks of bots like you." Throwing Drift down, he watched him slide across the floor, his blade still up guarding himself. "Because it will always make a great example to the others." Grabbing Drifts leg, he yanked him up and over his shoulder, violently slamming him to the ground.

            Drift armor bursts off in sections, clattering all around as he was whipped about. One final hard slam and Tarn let him go, throwing him across the room until he crashed into a wall.

            " _Stop_! You're going to kill him!" Rodimus reared, several bots were trying to hold him still.

            Drift slid down the wall slowly as it crumbled around him; bright blue enegon gushing from his nose. Standing on shaky legs, he hauled his sword up once again, the tip glistening.

            "That all you got...." _Warning_ : _System failure, fuel levels reaching critical._

"Hmph." Tarn waved him over, taunting him. "Come little Harvest."

            Drift pushed off the wall, systems straining. Energon levels to low, he was already at a substantial disadvantage. Everything was getting heavy, and times seemed to slow down as he lunched forwards.

            "RAA!" _Warning: Extensive damage to exterior armor. Medical attention required._

_Clang!~_

Opening his optics, Drift's spark dropped when he saw his blade was caught in Tarns grip. The large servos snapped it in half with a simple flick of his wrist, and Drift was left with nothing but a hilt.

            "You never had a chance." A punch like a hammer followed and Drift was knocked hard, his gyro systems knocked off balance.

            Then another jab to the chest, side, then right in the abdomen. The fist indented into him slightly, and Drift curled over Tarns arm, mouth wide in a gasp.

            "You're _mine_ now." Yanking his arm back, he watched Drift fall to his knees. The world around him spun and his frame rocked suddenly. " _Fall_." Tarn whispered into his audio.

            _Warning: Critical damage levels reached, system shut down recommended._

            Leaning to far Forwards, Drift came down hard on his own faceplate.

            " **NO**!" Rodimus was the only slave in line struggling now, all the rest crept back in horror. "Driiiiiiiiift!" He screamed, hunching over, and smashing his bound fists into the ground. "Slag!"

"Tsk..." Swindle pouted. "Alright, shows over! Get back in line! We have work to do! Those of you who passed the First stage to the left, the others to the right! Let's go!" Rodimus felt himself being Dragged into place while Tarn lifted Drift by a finial.

            "I think you will be most profitable, little harvest." Brushing away energon that was seeping from Drifts mouth, he just groaned. "Lucky you get to house my crystals. Don't disappoint me." Dropping Drift, he took the broken sword from him.

            "Sir, do you want me to send him to get prepped for you?" One of the three original mini bots who had captured Drift walked up.

            "Yes, get him cleaned up, then bring him to my quarters. Make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble until then."

            "Yes, sir." The bot bowed and had a few others help carry Drift away.

            In their arms he could only watch through half lidded optics as Rodimus vanished from his sight.

            _Primus...._


	7. Seeds to Sow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rape and Drug use warnings apply for this chapter.

Drift's optics fluttered open, and he watched as lights passed by over him. Taking his processors a few seconds to calculate where he was, he felt the bots holding him take a sharp corner.

            "You think Tarn's going to kill him?" The bot carrying Drifts legs spoke first.

            "No way, he's one of the bots who make the Harvest, Tarn wouldn't waste recourses like that." The bot in back threw Drift up a bit to get a better grip under his arms.

            "Just hurry up so we can dump this thing." They both brought Drift into a room and heaved him up onto a table.

            "You got your work cut out for you today doc." The bot slapped the yellow medic on the shoulder before leaving and slamming the door.

            The doc but turned slowly, grimacing at Drift. He was battered pretty badly, part of his just barely hanging on while a single hand kept tight to his abdomen.

            "Primus kid. What did you do?" Leaning over Drift, he watched his optics peak open.

            "R-Ratchet..." Trying to reach up, his hand was grabbed and set back down by his side.

            "Sorry, not your Ratchet." Wandering around the room, the doc rustled up some supplies before pulling up a stool on the side of the berth. "Alright, let's pretty you up." First he started by washing away the energon that was now dried and crusted to his armor. Then he slowly started to reconnect his armor and bang out what dents he could.

            Slowly but surely Drift came around, to low on energy to put up any kind of a fuss, he laid still for the doc. Dimming his optics he inhaled a painful breath before shifting slightly away when he doc tried to touch his abdomen.

            "Easy, just going to polish it a bit." Dabbing a cloth into a jar, he got to work when Drift settled back down.

            Closing his optics, he tried to imagine it was Ratchet fixing him, those quick hands making quick work of his wounds. Those angry scolding's he used to get for getting himself into trouble.

 

_"Again Drift?!" Ratchet flicked the side of Drifts finial, making him lean back and rub it. "What did I tell you about doing stupid aft things that could get you killed! Hmm?" Going to flick him again, Drift whined._

_"Oh come on Ratchet, where is the fun in not getting a little busted up now and then? I'm fine honest, they just got a few lucky shots in on me." Ducking from another flick, he grabbed Ratchet chestplate and pulled him close. "Besides, it gives me a good excuse to come here and let you touch me." Grazing his lips across Ratchets cheek, he felt him jump._

_"Drift." Leaning away from him, he crossed his arms and coughed into his fist, his faceplate a light pink. "Right well...still." Jabbing Drift in the side with two fingers, he smirked at the loud "Oof~," he made._

_He laughed, that beautiful smiling seemed t light the room. He kept giggling until he felt that medics hand gently cup his scuffed cheek, a thumb brushing just under his optics._

_"I just don't want to lose you, kid." A tender smiled as Drift took his hand, pressing it harder into his cheek and closing his optics. He nuzzled the hand, sighing in content._

_"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. So don't worry." Bumping his forehead against Ratchets, he blushed. "I couldn't leave you here all alone."_

_"The same for you, kid." Ratchet grazed his lips over Drift's, kissing him lovingly._

 

His tank turned and jarred from his thoughts. blinking his optics online, he looked to his side, seeing the doc bot by the counter preparing something.

            When the doc bot turned slightly, Drift noticed the slight budge on mid section A light blue liquid streamed down from between his legs and he was quick to brush it away. Drift stared a little longer before sitting up slightly.

            "You..."

            "We're _all_ victims here." Sitting back by Drift's side, he finished polishing him off. before turning and getting a glass of light pink liquid.

            "Drink this." He tried to hand it to him but Drift scoffed.

            "Like I'm falling for that scrap again." Crossing his arms, he turned his head and pouted. "I'm not that stupid."

            "It won't purge your tank I promise." He took a sip of it himself, then offered it to Drift again. "It's low grade fuel. You're going to need it." Delighted when Drift finally sat up and took it, he downed it, not realizing how hungry he had been.

            _How many day have I even been here?_

No windows, no way of telling how much time had passed, nothing to give him hope of the outside world finding him.

            "Thanks." Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he handed the glass back. Then watched the doc bot moved around some more. Only when his cuffs magnetized together and then to the table did his tank roll. "Now what?" He nearly whined before the doc bot was back at his side.

            "Relax." biting the cap off a needle, he flicked it then grabbed Drift's thigh.

            "W-Wait! Wait!" Suddenly trying to back off the table, his arms caught on the cuffs. Panic followed and his tank rolled with when he remembered the horrible sting the last needle let on him.

            "It's just something to keep you from getting into more trouble. In fact you will thank me for it after the second stage."

            "Can't you just give me a capsule or something?!"

            "No, cannot trust the stock to actually swallow them, so this is how we do things." Squeezing the metal, he jabbed it quickly.

            "No wai-AH!" Drift jumped, mouth gaping as he watched.

            "Stop fussing." He pulled it out then put pressure on the point. Before Drift could snap at him, a wave of heat washed over him.

            "Wha~?" Faceplate suddenly flushing a bright pink, his shoulders sagged. The zing of pain in his thigh faded away as he felt like he was on a cloud.

            "Like that?" The doc bot pushed himself back in his chair, demagnetizing his cuffs from the table, he watched the samurai nurse his leg. "It's a mix of a few boosters I created. See, I used to just polish off a bot and send them on their way for the second half of the Harvest, but it can be painful." Continuing to watch Drift's face twist with a stupid look, he sighed. "So I made a mixed drug that will arouse you, but also numb your interfacing array a bit. To lessen any discomfort. You see, in order for this to work, you need to have a host overload into you, and then you need to overload as well. This allows your chamber to open and take the fluid. Once inside, it will slowly begin the process of becoming a sparkling, except it will crystallize before it ever truly becomes a full spark, resulting in the creation of the crystals. It will take about three days for the crystals to fully mature before they will move down and drop from your system. That is when we harvest them." Pulling Drift off the table, he had to place a hand on his chestpate to balance him. "There are three kinds of crustal a bot can give us. Bots who give small crystals tend to be little use to Tarn, but if they give big enough bundles of small crystals he keeps them around. If not...well let us just hope that doesn't happen to you." Reaching a hand down, he palmed Drift's panel, feeling heat radiating off of it. Perfect, the booster was working. "Then there are the medium crystals, which are the most common, which are what I personally drop from my system. The last are the large crystals, rare, and dangerous to the host." Pulling Drift into the hall, he guided him through the halls, occasionally looking back at him. "When a host carries large crystals they experience quite a few side effects. The most common one we have had a problem with is a bot trying to pull the Crystals out through their armor. It's....not a pretty sight. In other cases, extreme fever, rage, system failures, and in most cases death. We had a lot of lost stock last season, which, I learned are the bodies you found. So, you have already seen firsthand what happens to those who do not make it." He stopped before a door and Drift bumped into him, his optics glossy. He was a lot taller than the doc but, so he loomed over him a bit .

            _Primus....my frame is so hot...I feel like I'm on fire. Ah...I have to....get out of here._

Knocking on the door, the doc bot opened it and pulled Drift by the collar into the room, presenting him to Tarn.

            "Looks like new." Tarn stepped close to Drift, reaching out a talon to stroke across his face before he pulled away. "Hehehe...still so stubborn. I like am going to enjoy this one."

            Drift growled, wanting to take a step back but the doc bot pushed him forwards.

            "Remember Tarn, if he doesn't overload it won't work. So try not to ruin in....we have already lost a lot of stock due to your nature."

            "Oh don't worry, I know he can take a beating." Hooking a talon under Drift's collar, he pulled him further into the room. Digging his heels into the floor, Drift tried to back pedal away from the approaching berth. His spark sank when he heard the door to the room close, and the doc bot was gone, leaving him with this monster.

            Thrown face first onto the berth, drift was quick to flip onto his back, his arms up, but Tarn just stood at the edge of the berth, snickering.

            Suddenly Drift's cuffs demagnetized and his arms separated right as Tarn dropped over him.

            "Get off me!" Pushing hard against Tarns chestplate, he couldn't even budge the weight. Shouting when a long glossa slithered out from under Tarns mask and licked up the side of his face, Drift thrashed. "I said get off!" Head-butting Tarn, the large mech jerked back, allowing Drift to roll out from underneath him and fall onto the floor.

            Crawling towards the door, a hard ped cam down on his spine, forcing out a loud yelp. It crushed him for a moment, before  stepping off.

            "Breaking stock like you is what I live for. The more you scream, the more you struggle, the more it pleases me." Grabbing Drift by the back of his neck, he hauled him up and slammed him against the wall. "So I insist," He leaned forwards, his lips pressing to Drift's audial, "keep fighting me."

            "Nng!" Hands pushing against the wall, Drift felt Tarn bump his aft with his hips. Another hard bump then a hand clawing into his seams. "S-stop!" A hard yank and Drifts interfacing panel was ripped right off and thrown to the ground.

            Two talons ran through Drifts valve lips before pulling away.           

            "So wet." Tarn whispered to him, returning his hand and rubbing Drift's outer node. "I'm going to enjoy fragging you." Dipping his fingers into Drifts valve, his grip tightened on his throat when he jerked back. Sliding in and out a few times, he sliced Drift's inner thighs when he pulled out.

            "Stop!" His faceplate was bright red, his body betraying him as the booster only seemed to throw him into an unwanted arousal."Plea-" His breath caught in his throat when he felt a massive spike suddenly slide against his aft.

            _No_

Tarn leaned forwards, biting Drift hard on the shoulder before angling himself to prod the tip of his spike into Drifts valve.

            Unable to keep his legs from trembling, Drift bared his denta, coolant tears building in his optics. He squeezed them closed, hands clenching into fists.

            _This can't be happening...this isn't happening. Wake up Drift! Wake up!_

Optics shooting open when Tarn forced his spike all the way into Drift, he threw his head back in a silent scream.

            _Primus no_

Optics burning out, his vocalizer suddenly found itself and a loud wail burst from him. Trying to get away, Tarn grabbed his head and ground it into the wall, bucking up harder.

            "Grk! F-Fr-AH-ha!" Everything was going black, and the pounding became a dull ache in the background of his mind.

            _No wait...I...._

Peaking open one optic, Drift dug his servos into the wall, trying his best to pull his hips back from the assault. The hand around his throat tightened and he gagged, choking when his ceiling node was struck several times. His legs quivered unable to move in any direction now as fear washed over him.

            _Don't overload! Don't overload!_

Optics rolling back into his head, Drift roared into the wall, an internal struggle now happening. His pointed denta started to show with each new strangled howl.

            _Fight it! Fight it!_

Coolant tears streamed down his cheeks, the charge from the booster igniting every node in his valve to scream with desire. Each new thrust zapped him with new found pleasure until he started to sob.

            _I....can't.........Don't do it........please!_

Tarn jerked up hard, flushing their hips together and putting every bit of himself into Drift as he could. Spilling transfluid into the valve with nothing more than a grunt.

            Drift entre frame froze under him, overload slamming him hard. Static popped from his mouth and his optics beamed white before bursting out into darkness.

            His tank turned, accepting the transfluid and beginning the process for the Harvest.

            Tarn stepped back, his spike sliding out of Drift which was followed by a flow of energon and lubricants. Releasing Drift's throat, he watched as the ex-con slowly slide down the wall and drop to his knees. Pressing his forehead to the wall, he looked down between his legs. 

            As his optics came back online, he watched a pool of his own lubricants and energon collect under him and swirl around. He swallowed hard when his tanked turned again, an feeling of pure disgust filling him. 

            "Let us hope for a good harvest." He heard Tarn say from behind him before throwing his panel cover at him, which bounced off his shoulder blade and clattered to the floor.

            _I can't move.....why can't I move_

Optics locked onto the puddle, they rotated and shrank into little circles. He was leaning, then crashing hard onto his side on the floor. Shock overwhelmed him as he began to twitch and jerk.

            He didn't register Tarn over him right away, only when he could see those red optics glowing from the corner of his vision did he know he was kneeling by him.

            "My poor sweet spark. This is only the beginning." A delicate claw ran over Drifts cheek, brushing the tears away before standing and getting the doc bot who was waiting in the hall. Drift wondered if he had heard everything. His begging, sobbing, and disgusting overload.

            "Gah...." He tried to speak but the doc bot put a servo to his lips, shaking his head.

            "Shh," He snapped for the minibots to help him. 

            "Bring him back to his cell, the seeds have been sown. Now it's just a matter of time. Make sure the others are as well. Keep a close monitor on all the new stock, make sure we don't lose any this time." Waving them off, they left with Drift in hand.

 

* * *

 

 

Drift was thrown hard into his cell, landing on his hands and knees before his panel was thrown in after. It skittered across the floor before bumping into him. A shaky hand took it and snapped it back into place before he dragged himself to the makeshift berth. Falling on his side, he stared at the wall with a blank expression.

            "Drift?" Rodimus said from across the cell. "Drift what happened?" He moved back and forth, trying to see his face, but only getting his back. "Drift, talk to me!"

            "I overloaded."

            "What?" Rodimus squinted, wrapping his hands around the bars.

            "I..... _overloaded._ " In the darkness, Rodimus could see Drift shaking, his plating tightening around his form, as if to hold himself.

            "Drift." Sitting Rodimus pushed his arms through the bars. Drift come here." But the samurai didn't budge.

            "I overloaded."

            "Drift please come here!" He fell silent when he heard Drift stifling his sobs. " _Please_ Drift."

            Very slowly, Drift finally got to his hands and knees and crawled over to Rodimus' side of the cell. Trying not to sob in pain, he felt his valve screaming for him to stop moving.

            He laid himself close to the bars, close enough Rodimus could run his hand over Drifts back.

            "I overloaded."

            "It's not your fault, do you still have that medical kit Ratchet gave you? They took mine a while ago." He watched Drift nod before painfully pulling it from his subspace. "Perfect." Pulling out the limited supplies, there was a small canister of medical grade energon. Having to dip his fingers in it since he had a lack of cloth, he spread it around the slices Tarn had left, then gave the rest to Drift to use on his valve.

            Several tears, all which would heal by morning with the medical grade, but still painful none the less.

            Once done, Rodimus watched Drift lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling now.

            "I feel like I....am back living in the Dead End." Drift spoke after a long silence. "Back when thing like this...were an everyday thing. Back when it...didn't matter."

            He put a hand over his faceplate, inhaling deeply. Plating rattling, he set his arm down and looked at Rodimus.        

            "Do you really believe Ratchet will find us?"

            "He will, because he's going to beat our afts for getting ourselves in this situation and he won't stop looking until he finds us. That's how I know." A small smile on Drift's face before he closed his optics.

            "If we get out of here before he finds us....don't tell him what happened." Drift whispered, putting his hands on his stomach. "I don't want him knowing about this." _I don't want him thinking I'm disgusting._

            "Uh....Sure..." Leaning back against the wall, Rodimus rubbed his sore joints. When he looked back at Drift he was out cold, though he looked sickly, beaten, but not yet broken.

            "I'll be right here when you wake buddy."


	8. Pressure

"Tell me you found something." Ratchet put a hand on First Aids shoulder, feeling him nearly jump out of his armor. "Sorry, I know it's late."

            "It's alright." Lifting himself away from a microscope, First Aid whirled around in his chair and scooted himself across the room. "Okay, so here is what we know so far," Clearing his intake, he continued, "the bots that you guys found in the warehouses are in tough shape. From first glance they just look like leakers and skivs. Not a single one has had a paintjob in cycles, armor is missing, no _guns_ at all build into their frames. Some of them have T-cogs missing, which is not a surprise. It's not uncommon for addicts to sell of parts to have credits for boosters." Standing, and motioning for Ratchet to follow him, he brought him over to several tables with bodies on then. "I tried to pin point why some of them would be abducted, so I made sure to check if they were forged or made cold. Turns out, it's not a clue at all, there are even amounts of both. So I crossed that off the list." Scrolling through a datapad, he handed it over to Ratchet who read all the medical records.

            "Some of these bots weren't even addicts to start." He continued to scroll, taking note on previous occupation before the abduction date. "Quantum engine mechanic," He stepped in front of the morgue slab before moving onto the next, "Medic, soldier, racer, miner, waste disposal unit, addict, addict, soldier, soldier...." He trailed off, rubbing the bottom of his chin. "Seems they took a new licking to bots who had a little more success in their lifetimes."

            "Didn't end with it." Spinning back to his desk, First Aid came around with a magnifying glass in hand. "Take a look here." Hovering over a body, he guided it over the mechs torn out belly. "Okay so far as we know this is an self inflicted wound." using his free hand, he grabbed the mechs hand and pulled it up. Running his magnifying glass above it, he examined the fingers before showing Ratchet. "His servos have dried on energon and that blue stuff you found. Let's refuge to it as 'Temptation.'" He watched Ratchet raise an optic ridge. "I'm getting to it hold on....jeez." Setting the bots hand down, he moved along back to its belly. "All of the bots show the same kind of wounds. All used their hands to get inside themselves. My count there are twelve total. They pulled their transformation seams first, getting their amour out of the before tearing out their own wiring and components. Must have been excruciating ."

            "I'm sure whatever made them do this was even more painful than the deed itself." Pulling on some of the plating, he felt how flimsy it had become. "Mass energon loss killed this one, and several others. Two with blunt trauma to the head and the rest seem to have had spark failure."

            "That's not even the best part." Walking around Ratchet, he delicately pushed one of the smaller bots legs apart.

            "His modesty plate is missing." Ratchet didn't have to get close to see how swollen and grotesque the poor mechs valve was.

            "Alright, so normally this would be a normal thing to see with a dead buymech, but since half of these don't fit that bill, I ruled in rape. Normally we see mass executions, but this....this time its mass rape. Or so I think. All the other mechs show the same valve trauma, and internal injuries as well."

            "Okay, now tell me why they disemboweled themselves."

            "I'm still working on that part, but I think I have a theory. Come here." Showing Ratchet the microscope, he made him look into it. "Watch what happens when I put some energon in with Temptation." Sliding out the glass slide, he set a new one into it, then gestured for Ratchet to look. Closing one Optics he leaned down, his remaining one rotating till it narrowed and focused.

            Inside, he watched the blue liquid slide around before First Aid added a drop of Energon. Instantly the energon crystallized.

            "Wha-" Before he could finish, the energon turned jet black and began to bubble. "It...crystallized the energon..."

            "Only for a few seconds. It's unstable whatever it is. I thought maybe it had something to do with energon since these bodies are loaded with both energon and this fluid, but it turns black every time. I don't know what to make about it. I'm at a loss." Flopping back down in his chair, he watched Ratchet move from the microscope back to one of the bodies.

            "First, how did it get into their systems? I am ruling out them doing this to themselves. Captives wouldn't do this kind of think to themselves willingly. Not on this level anyway. I have seen some accidentally overdose on boosters, but this....this is not right." Taking each side of a torn out belly, Ratchet yanked it open with the most grotesque snapping and crunching noises.

            Yanking an overhead light above him he examined further into the body, moving around organs and getting lower till he reached the chamber.

            "Look." He snapped for First Aid who was instantly at his side. "The chamber has gouge marks all over it." Twisting, he grabbed a laser scalpel and leaned back down. A swift slice, and the chamber parted ways.

            "Well that's disgusting." Watching Ratchet sink his hand in, he servos came back out covered in blue liquid.

            "I don't feel anything in there." Spreading the chamber wider, he squinted. "Wait," he pointed, "look, stretch marks all along the lining...some lacerations..." He inspected further.

            "You think something was in there? Sparkling?"

            "It couldn't have been a sparkling. Sparklings don't....damage the chamber. Plus, when a sparkling is _born_ , it doesn't _come out of the valve_. When a sparkling reaches full maturity, it will vanish from the bots body and make its way to the Well of Allsparks to get itself a body within a few cycles. We don't actually 'give birth.' Which doesn't connect the dots to why their valves are a disaster."  

            "But something was in there. Almost all of these bots have the same marks on them. All of them except two bots. I have one of the miner bots over in the corner. His chamber is normal. His valve is also untouched."

            "But his armor is in pieces.  He was a pit fighter." Ratchet dismissed it. "Did you see anything else unusual about them?"

            "Most if not all of them have puncture wounds on their lower abdomens, right above the chamber. I'm going to just say that is how Temptation was put into them. The miner and one other have the mark, but it's a little scar, while the others have signs of multiple injections."

            "Hmm...." Sifting around in the chamber a little more, Ratchet finally removed his hands. "I'm not entirely sure what we are dealing with here First Aid, but it's not good."

            _What if the next warehouse we go into I find Drift. What if he's the next one on my slab with my hands in his frame._

"Ratchet-"

            "Hmm?" He turned slightly, "Sorry...I was just thinking. Trying to put the pieces together. I have seen something _close_ to this before. A long time ago there were a series of addicts who tried to transport boosters through the region by surgically putting them into the chambers, since there was space for it. It showed the same stretching and often sometimes would burst in them. But it never caused them to open themselves up. This could be a more extreme version. But then the valve damage." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We need more information....soon. We are running out of time, it has already been to long-" There was a loud ping signaling someone was at the Clinic door.

            "It's Perceptor and Blurr." He said, walking with Ratchet as they made their way to the front.

            "Excellent."

 

* * *

 

 

Drift lay on his side, optics half lit as his frame rose and fell slowly. It had been two days now, and his stomach was bulging out now.

            He had moved away from Rodimus' side of the cell, placing himself center in the small room. Back to Rodimus, the hot rod watched his friends frame rise and fall slowly. Sometimes he could see Drift struggling to take a large breath, and he would shift on his side a moment before falling still.

            "How are you feeling?" Rodimus spoke through the darkness, his head pressed to the bars. For hours he had been trying to get a response out of Drift, just the other day he stopped talking to him. Out of the blue, he had laid himself down like an animal waiting to die and stayed silent.

            _It hurts._

Drift shifted again, his servos starting to pluck at his abdominal seams. He looked down, watching his hands before they slid into the cracks.

            _It hurts._

Rodimus jerked his head up at the sound of metal crunching. Squinting all he saw was Drift's arms moving slowly. He would flinch now and then, letting out a low whimper before his arms began to move again.

            "Drift...Drift what are you doing?" He watched before one of Drift's hands came up slowly, his servos coated in blue. Rodimus jerked back, dazed a moment before shooting up and rattling his bars. "Help! Please! Somebot! Help!" He was bellowing.

            Drift just kept pulling his platting back, his servos tangling around some of the wires underneath before a loud clang sounded. Before he could yank them, his hands jerked behind his back and magnetized.

            "What do you think you're doing!?" Doc bot snapped a he stood over him. Rolling Drift onto his back, he knelt down by him and made quick work of bending his platting back into place. "Lucky you, now you get to stay life this." Once finished, he kicked Drift back onto his side, this time Facing Rodimus.

            "Is h okay! Tell me! Drift!? Come on say something!" Rodimus paced back and forth in his cell, coolant streaming down the side of his face. "Drift!" He slammed the bars with his hands and got a glare from the doc bot.

            "Quiet!" He hissed, pressing two fingers to Drift's main energon line. The pulse was rapid, and he pulled away when he noticed Drift look at him.

            "It hurts...." His voice croaked, and he closed his optics. "Get it out....get it out."

            "No can do." Snapping, two of the minibots entered the cell and hauled Drift into a  leaning-sitting position. He grimaced and squirmed when doc bot pulled off his panel.  

            "Don't....don't" A half hearted effort, he tried to struggle but gave up in seconds. Absolutely, exhausted, he hunched over slightly and panted hard.

            "Stop it! Stop!" Rodimus rammed his shoulder against the cell bars, revving his engines in frustration. "get away from him! I'll tear you apart!"

            Doc bot sighed and stood before gesturing the bots to pick Drift up and carry him to the medical bay.

            "Make haste." He insisted before facing Rodimus. "No matter how much noise you make it won't change the outcome. I do thank you for alerting us to his condition before too much was damaged, but still. Rattle your cage all you like." Turning away from the glaring Prime, he was gone.

 

* * *

 

 

Drift pulled at the cuffs, now magnetized to the medical berth while his legs were hiked up into stirrups. Shaking his head, he growled at the minibots who ignored him an d left him alone in the room for what seemed like cycles.

            _Wake up Drift....it's just a bad dream. Wake up. Please just wake up._

Opening his optics, his lower lip quivered when he was still in the same room, locked to a table and exposed. Yanking hard on the arm restrains, thrashed as best he could until screaming in frustration. Slamming himself back down, he panted.  His optics wandered to his budged out belly, and he felt his tank turn in disgust. Turning his head to the side, he closed his optics.

            _Wake up Drift. Just wake up._

_A gentle hand stroked Drifts cheek, a thumb grazing slightly under his optics. A touch warm and kind, one he leaned into slightly before opening one optic._

_"Hey kid," Ratchet whispered to him, half his face buried in a berth pillow. "You okay?" He leaned in nuzzling the side of Drifts face._

_"Ratchet?"A wave of relief washed over him as a knot formed in his intake. "Ratchet." Grabbing the hand on his cheek, he pressed it in even harder, his bottom lip quivering. A coolant tear streaked out from one optic and Ratchet used his thumb to brush it away._

_"Hey, It's alright, I'm here now." Pulling Drift into his arms, he hauled up the berth covers, tucking them around the samurai before rubbing his back. "I'm here now."_

_Burying his face into Ratchet's neck, he felt his frame relax. A gentle hand rubbed one of his finials  before smiling into the medics neck. For a long time he just stayed there, all the pain slipping away before he finally spoke._

_"Ratchet....I....I'm worried." Feeling the arms around him tighten, he sighed._

_"Don't be." Pulling away, Ratchet placed his hand under Drift's chin before pushing it up slightly and forcing Drift to look at him. Those soft lips grazed his own, and he kissed back, letting out a small grunt of approval._

_Ratchets free hand trailed up and down Drifts frame, pressing into his seams and pulling wires until Drift reacted with a groan._

_Faceplate turning pink, Drift pulled from the kiss and let out a soft gasp when Ratchet pressed onto his panel. Watching Ratchet kiss down his frame, he stopped and kissed Drift's panel before pulling it back._

_"Slight pressure." He said before a servo slid in._

_**Pain.**_

**** _"Ah! Wha-??" The servo slid in deeper and Drift felt like his valve was ripping. "Wait! Ratchet wai-" Lifting his head, his Optics shrank at the sinister grin on the medics face. His optics bright red._

**Agony.**

_"Hold still now." A second servo and Drift wailed, shooting up only to have Ratchet grab his throat with his free hand and slam him back down onto the now metal berth._

_"GAh! R-Ratchet! Please!"He begged, coolant tears filling his optics now as Ratchet servos felt like daggers. Each thrust slicing his valve into pieces._

_"What's the matter? Buymech doesn't like it?" A hard thrust to his knuckles now._

_"STOP!" Grabbing Ratchets arm with both hands he screamed. "STOP!"The servos around his throat tightened and he wheezed. Optics half open, he wailed. "Stop it! Ratchet ple-" A horrible shock of pain, and he choking out a sob._

_"You're nothing but a buymech, you will never be anything more to me." Coolant tears rolled down Drift's cheeks._

_The servos around his neck just seemed to continue to get tighter and tighter, until Drift was gasping open mouthed for air._

"He doesn't look so good." One of the minibots said, watching energon seep from Drift's nose. "What's wrong with him?"

            "Just the side effects of the Harvest. Just have to keep a close eye on him. He will go in and out of delusions from time to time. We have to make sure he doesn't self mutilate. Tarn was very clear this one needs to survive.  
            The doc bot pulled a speculum from Drift's valve, two small crystals in hand. Rolling them around a bit, he sighed. "he must have a large harvest, some of the crystals are already falling out." Setting Drift's legs out of the stirrups,  he moved to the side of the table and pushed hard on Drift's abdomen.

            Face twisting in agony, Drift's optic shot open. Jerking up, he screamed before falling hard on his face.

            "S-Stop! Please! Please!" He was drenched in coolant, though his mind now much more clear.

            "Welcome back." Doc bot placed a cold cloth on his forehead. "Thought you were going to be out longer than that." He watched Drift squirm and pant.

            "What did you do to me?"

            "Gave you some energon. Low grade, enough to fill you to about 50% fuel. It should sway the nausea you are feeling in time." Walking around the table he showed Drift the crystals. "These were in your valve. Small I know, but don't worry, the small ones always come down first, the large ones are more difficult. I believe you are carrying large crystals. Lucky you, Tarn will be pleased."

            Drift turned his head, a loud noise escaping his throat before he vomited off the side of the table. He coughed a few times, then spit before the doc bot wiped his mouth for him.

            "I would appreciate it if you didn't purge after I just fed you." Demagnetizing Drift's arms, he yanked him into a sitting position, which was painful. "Drink this _slowly._ " The doc bot sighed.

            Taking the glass, Drift did as asked and sipped it with trembling hands. On the wall behind the docs counter was a huge mirror, and when he saw himself in it, he froze.

            _Is that really me..._

A once shimmering white frame now dulled to a light gray. Autobot badge no longer glowing, he looked at his shoulder armor, dented and crumbling. His cheeks scuffed and dirty, he looked like he belonged back in the Dead End.

            The feeling of something trickling down his legs took his optics away from his reflection. Another belch sound, and he covered his mouth after the blue liquid gushed from his open panel.

            "Don't purge, that's all the energon you are getting today so best not waste it." He watched Drift quiver on the berth before nodding. "Good."

            Sipping the last of the energon, Drift gave the glass back, noticing the doc bots belly was now nice and flat.

            "They harvested you...."

            "Correction, I harvested me." Returning to Drift's front, he took one of his hands and inspected the cuff on his wrist.

            The metal around it was irritated from Drift struggling so much. The same went for the other hand and the collar around his neck.

            "I'm going to put some oil on these to help keep you from rusting alright?" He didn't wait for an answer, but instead got right to work.

            "Ouch!" Drift hissed, the oil burning him but soon after easing the ache of his joints.          "Shush." Putting some around the collar, the doc then put some in-between Drift's legs, making sure to get his joints very well.

            "Why did you do that?"

            "You'll find out when you get off the table." Stepping back, he motioned for Drift to hop down.

            Stepping down, Drift dropped to one knee, his optics closing when a crystal slid out of him. It bounced of the floor before skittering away.

            "I-I'm gonna throw up again.....uurp..." Covering his mouth once more, he forced it back down while the doc bot collected the crystal from the floor.

            "Come on, up you get." Yanking Drift up by his underarm, he pushed him along. Each step was absolute agony. Pain radiated through his hips down his legs and to the tips of his peds. Having to stop half way to his cell, he felt the mini bot behind him shove him, nearly knocking him over.

            He stepped into his cell, expecting his hands to be put back behind his beck, but the doc bot left him free.

            "Stay here and guard tonight. If he tries to pull his armor off again, restrain him and come get me." The minibot nodded to the doc before he left them alone.

            "Drift!" Rodimus was standing, servos wrapped around the bars. He smiled when Drift limped over to him. "Are you okay?"

            "I have been better...sorry I have to...I have to sit, or lay down," He was sweating again, "Standing is killing me." Rodimus sank to the floor with him, watching him lay on his side.

            "I think we should try busting out again. A guard came in while you were gone and said the rest of us were going to the pits or auction soon, I think we should make our move then."

            "Rodimus...." Drift sounded out of breath, "I don't think I can help this time. I can barely stand buddy. My entire body....it's just....I'll weigh you down." His optics dimmed and closed. "I think you're the only one getting out of here."

            "Don't say that." Leaning against the wall, Rodimus frowned and looked down at his own hands. "Drift, I'm going to get us out of here. If I can't get the two of us out, I'll come back here guns blazing." Looking back at Drift he was smiling.

            "I'll wait here then." He mustered up a soft "Heh." Before slipping into recharge.

 

* * *

 

 

"You want me to _what_!?" Perceptor shot up from the table, knocking it back a bit. "Ratchet have you lost your bearings!" His accent deepened when he panicked. "I know you are worried about Drift but.... _this!?"_

            "I told you, you won't be alone, we will be watching everything." Ratchet crossed his arms, watching the scientist pace back and forth.

            "If I may ask why _me?_ Why not Blurr _!_ " He pointed at the beautiful blue mech by his side.

            "Everybody on Cybertron knows how fast Blurr is. If I send him out there there is nobody dumb enough to try and grab him. I just need you to wander around one of the zones I managed to narrow down on the maps. If someone tries to take you, that is when Blurr dashes in and grabs them before they can capture you."

            "Why me!?"

            "Because you look like an easy target." Blurr said suddenly, and Perceptor turned to him, his face red.

            "I beg your pardon! I have a sniper on my back and I most certainly know how to use it!"

            "You won't have that when you go out, or this," Ratchet yanked his Optic-scope off and placed it down on the table, revealing both of Perceptors optics now. Now he looked like the scientist he once was.

            "Ratchet, I know you are worried...I know you want to find Drift and Rodimus as much as everyone else, but this is dangerous. If Orion were to find out, he would be furious with this."

            "You can say _no_ Percy."

            "I'm not saying No, I'm just saying we better get this right the first time."


	9. Penance

Rodimus pressed his head against the cell bars, his optics the only two orbs of light in the dark room.

            His tank rumbled and he shifted, letting out a loud sigh before looking up at his friend.

            Drift lay on his side, shifting his hips now and again. It had been a long night with no recharge for him and it showed in his hollowed out optics.

            Curling into a ball, Drift clenched his arms around his abdomen, gritting his denta as waves of pain coursed over him. Each pulse worse than the last.

            "Nng..." Rodimus heard him whimper before rolling onto his back with a loud thud.

            "How bad is it?" He watched Drift roll back onto his side with a loud whimper.

            "There are scraplets in my chamber. There has to be." Panting into the ground, Drift tried to sit himself up, getting only half way before crumbling under his own weight and falling back to the floor. "What I wouldn't.....Nng.....do for a booster right now." A sharp zing of pain flew threw his spine and he tried to stifle a yelp.

            Drenched in coolant, he bit down on a servo, increasing the pressure with every new throb of pain. His valve walls convulsed and rippled, and he could feel crystals gathering at the bottom of his chamber. Each little movment shifted the crystals and caused mass discomfort.

            A faint light blue glow came from between Drift's legs were a large amount of blue liquid started to pool around him. In the middle of the night, the doc bot had come back and removed Drift's panel, taking it with him, not leaving him exposed. Some part of him didn't care, but the little bit of dignity he had left, he kept himself facing away from Rodimus.

 

         

   _It hurts....it hurts....Primus why does it hurt so much._

Pulling his servo from his mouth, he led his hands down his armor, dipping them between the seams again and lightly pulling. Before the plating could bend, he let it go, sliding his servos out and bringing them up to cover his face.

            _Don't.....do it._

Recalling back to the warehouse where they had found all the torn open bots, he grimaced at the thought of himself as one of them. Hunched in the corner with his hands buried deep in his belly to rid himself of the pain. Was he really still no better than some Dead End mech. Had he really worked so hard for all everything for it all to end like this?

            _I don't want Ratchet to find me like that...Primus please don't let Ratchet find me like that._

Bottom lip quivering, he fell silent when he heard hard footsteps on the ground. Falling very still, he listened, hearing a cell door clatter open. Expecting himself to be hauled up, he was surprised when he heard Rodimus struggling and cursing.

            "Rodimus?" Wincing as he tried to look over his shoulder, he forced himself over at the sight of the three minibots jumping all over the hot rod.

            "Get the frag off me!" Spinning around in his cell, Rodimus grabbed the bot on his back, yanking him over his shoulder and slamming him to the ground before putting his arm cannons in its face.

            "Hehe, nice try but your collar disables your t-cog and your weapons, so try all you want." He smirked when the two others grabbed Rodimus' arms, yanking them behind his back.

            "Not this time you little fraggers!" Yanking his arms up, he left the two minibots dangling on his arms before bashing them together. Throwing them down, he smashed his foot down on one, forcing ones neck between his pronged toes.

            "Still don't learn do you." The only bot left standing pressed a button on his arm consol, and in second Rodimus was wailing as an electrical current rocked his body.

            Kicking Rodimus off his comrade, the prime fell hard on his side. Tanking his arms behind his back, he magnetized his cuffs before kicking him in the stomach.

            "For an Autobot you're pretty stupid." Smirking at the glare he got, he hauled Rodimus to his peds. "Lucky you the boss things you're too pretty to send to the pits. Not that it looks like you would last one match anyway." He snorted as he laughed. "Boss thinks you will fetch a much nicer price in the auction." Jabbing Rodimus forwards and out of the cell, he looked back at Drift and winked to him.

            "Get going!" Another sharp prod and Rodimus was lead out of sight. Laying back down, his head back down, he closed his optics, just listening to several other bots being dragged from their cells as well.

            Tank turning, he whined in place, curling further into his ball. It became more and more difficult to hold still as he thought about Rodimus' fate kept popping up in his processor. What if he is bought to sombot who likes to beat bots to death, or somebot who just wants to frag him to death. What happens if he doesn't sell?

            Swallowing hard, he put a hand under his cheek and sighed, knowing hoping for anything to go right was unlikely.

 

* * *

 

 

Rodimus followed the line of bots up the ramp, keeping his optics locked on the bots before him, he turned with them and faced the crowed of potential buyers.

            Rodimus was a good looking but, but his frame was thinner now with the lack of fueling he had been getting. His paint dull and scuffed in areas he looked like hell. Though, the bots to his left and right looked a lot worse than he did, so at least that was a plus.

            "Alright! Let us start with the next round of bits!" Swindle paced back and forth in front of the stage, a large datapad in hand. "As you can see we have a fine selection this cycle! Including an Autobot! Still needs to be broken in, but I think it will be worth the trouble." He winked and the crowd began to whisper. "Let's start at the front of the line." Three bots away from where Rodimus was standing.

            "Starting bid 1000 credits!" Hands went up and Swindle did what he did best, jumping around and shouting new prices, they moved right along. The first bot stepping off the stage and being yanked by his collar by his new owner. Then the second bot who was sold for 2200 credits moved on down, and then the third.

            Rodimus stood up next, a death glare on his face as he looked out over the red opticed sea. He pulled on the cuffs behind his back, not hearing Swindle call out his price of 10,000 credits.

            Hands shot up left and right and Swindle working fast. Running back and forth between bidders, he called. "SOLD." And Rodimus finally looked up.

            "Hehe, come along now..." A hard yank to his collar and Rodimus nearly tripped off the stand, glaring at the much taller bulkier mech than him. A flyer, he assumed by the mechs services of wings. "I have plans for you." His buyer turned slightly and looked down at a mini bot who was tugging at one of his lower wings.

            "Here's the restraint controls." Tapping a few things on a datapad, they where downloaded into the mechs arm consul.

            "Come on." Yanking Rodimus away from all of the noise, they made their way down several series of halls.

            _Now or never._

Ramming into the jets back, he kicked him behind his leg, forcing the bot to fall to his knees. A swift roundhouse kick to the side of its helm had it flat on its face.

            "That....went a lot easier than I thought it would." Kneeling down, he struggled for a bit to get his hands to cooperate with him enough to activate its arm consul. A few random clicks later and Rodimus' luck picked up when his collar and cuffs clattered to the floor.

            "Frag yeah." Rubbing the sore joints, he took a step, only for his leg to be grabbed and nearly crushed in a wrecker grip.

            "You fragging scrap pile." Yanking Rodimus' leg out from under him, he crashed down hard onto his own chestplate before the jet loomed over him. Sinister optics glowed as a fist came down, barely missing Rodimus as he rolled out of the way. Kicking off the wall, he spun himself, free leg sweeping the bot off his feet.

            "I wish Drift would have seen that." Arm cannons cocked, he fired. Blasting the head off his owner, he was satisfied when he dropped to the floor in a pool of his own energon.

            "Hey!" He heard before an alarm started to sound. "We have a runner!" Looking at the end of the hall, he saw bots gathering before charging at him.

            "Frag!" Turning tail, Rodimus fired off a few rounds into the cluster before taking off down the hall.

            Several sharp corners, and Rodimus had no idea where he was. A few more and he found himself in the main hall just outside the cell block.

            "Come here you!" A hard grasp, and Rodimus went down with a bot onto of him. Several hard punches to the faceplate and stomach and Rodimus shouted. "I'll kill you!" A loud blast and the bot was thrown to the side, having gotten a laser bolt through the chest.

            Getting to his peds quickly, Rodimus dashed into the cell block, skidding a bit in front of Drifts cell.

            "Drift! Dri-" Empty. Nothing but a large pool of blue liquid remained in the center of the cell.

            _No..._

Hearing more bots coming, Rodimus had to pry himself away, he didn't have time to look now. He just had to get away. Had to get out and get help. It was the only way.

            Bursting through several doors, Rodimus found himself in the main part of the building, though he may have made a critical mistake going there.

            "Ah....there is our misguided stock." Tarn shoved the crowded around him aside. "You have become more trouble than you are worth." Snapping his servos, all the bots around him moved in Rodimus' direction. "Kill him and bring me his T-cog."

            Opening fire, Rodimus rolled and strafed the best he could. He had spotted a large glass window above the area Tarn always stood, and that was his only way out so far as he knew.

            A hard blast to the side and Rodimus went down, though he yanked himself right back up and made a mad dash.

            Jumping, he used several bots shoulders and faces to get leverage before leaping towards the glass.

            Spark sinking when he realized he was going to come up short, he twisted in mid air and fired directly at Tarn.

            Lifting his cannon, Tarn fired only once. Nailing Rodimus as he X blocked his front with his arms.

            The blast gave him the leverage he needed, sending his frame higher and faster through the glass until he slammed down on the outside terrain.

            As his frame bounced, plating rattled off and scattered all over before he came to a stop on his front.

            Optics half lit, he wheezed, feeling energon seeping from his mouth and nose.

            _Don't pass out you fragger...._

Critical damage warning signs flashed in on his HUD, followed by system shut down warnings.

            Slowly, Rodimus rose, getting to his feet as his armor clattered right off his body.

            "Come on....come on! COME ON!" His walk turned to a jog, then a sprint before he leapt and transformed. Zipping off, he left his pursuers in a cloud of dust.

 

* * *

 

 

Drift groaned when he felt a hand on his shoulder, rather disappointed to see doc bot over him. Frowning, he looked back down and closed his optics.

            How long had he been out? How long has it been since they took Rodimus?

            Shifting uncomfortably, he gritted his denta when a ripple of pain cramped his chamber. Coolant streamed down the side of his face and only when he felt the doc bots hand near his valve did he put the effort in to shift away.

            "Dont...." He sounded out of breath, optics half open, "It's killing me....don't....touch it."

            "It's time, that's why." Using his free hand, he placed it on Drifts inner thigh while he slid a servo into him.

            "NNG! Stop!" Drift arched, immediately regretting it and wailing. "Just leave me alone!" Feeling the doc bot pull his servo out, he held up a crystal.

            "Pick him up, get him to the medical bay, he's ready for Harvest." Snapping for the minibots, they grabbed Drift by his underarms and hauled him to his feet.

            "Stop! Stop! I can't walk!" Knees buckling in agony, more coolant beaded on his forehead. Trying to take any kid of step became utterly excruciating to the point he was heaving in air.

            "You'll get used to it the more harvests that you have." Snapping again, he walked while his minibots nearly dragged Drift along.

            Drift grabbed the doorframe to the medical ward, digging his servos into it. The minibots were jarred and they growled at him.

            "Please, don't do this."

            A sharp jab to the belly with one servo and Drift released the door to wail in pain.

            "Haul his hands up to the bar and magnetize them there, you know the drill." Turning to his work station, the doc bot got some supplies ready while his minibots restrained Drift.

            Arms over his head, he grabbed the pole he was now stuck to, trying to take some of the weight off of his legs.

            "Not going to lie to you, this is going to be the worse part." Doc bot yanked over a stool before kicking apart Drifts legs. "You seem to have a mix of all three crystals, which common, but once I get all the crystals out I will categorize you as to which one you carried the most of." Setting down a container to his side, he looked up at Drift who was trembling.

            With a sigh, the doc bot, took a needle from the tray of supplies he had gathered and pulled the cap off. He flicked it and squeezed it slightly, only stopping when he heard Drift make a noise as if he was about to purge.

            "Just something to help take the edge off. First Harvest is always the worse." When he touched Drifts inner thigh, he felt the plating twitch and Drift shift back.

            "Don't..." He croaked before a wet swab and a servo pressing against the point he was going to jab.

            Bearing his denta at the hot pinch, Drift clenched his servos as the needle dug past his plating and into the sensitive wiring below. More burning as he felt the drug flow through his lines, but it faded into a dull ache.

            "See? Better right?" Pulling the needle out, doc bot shifted on his chair before pressing a hand to Drifts belly. "Slight pressure."

            Drift's spark sank, and he wailed as the hand pressed hard into his puffed out plating. Choking on a sob, he felt a rush of fluids spill between his legs.

            Crystals clattered to the floor all around, and the mini bot was quick to pick them up and put them into the container.       

            "Excellent." Doc bot pushed again, ignoring Drift screams as another wave of crystals moved down. Two more rounds of pushing, and Drift forced himself to squeeze his legs closed. "That will do for the little ones..." Pushing the thighs apart once more, he gave no warning before sliding two servos up into the valve.

            "Primus! S-stop!" Twisting against the restrains, Drift leaned back, but there was no escape. "Stop this!" Wrists straining, he threw his head back.

            "The more you move the more painful it will be for yourself." Digging deeper, he came out with Crystals the size of his palm.

            Pressing down on his abdomen again and again, he continued fishing out crystals until the tips of his servos bumped an abnormally large one. Wrapping his arm around Drift, the doc bot nearly hugged Drift as he used his chest to push on Drift's belly. The increased pressure forced the large crystal down further into the valve.

            Drift, which his head still back felt coolant tears stream down while his mouth let out static.

            _What hell is this. The pain....it's unreal_

A loud sob burst from him when the crystal dropped and the doc bot caught it and put it in his box.

            A rush of energon seeped out of Drift valve as he was left hanging there, heaving in air as his saw how much of his own fluid he was standing in. His tank turned and his face turned a light green in disgust.

            _Primus just kill me. If this is punishment for all I have done just kill me._

Whimpering when the doc bot sat back down by him, he gently palpated Drifts once again flat and smooth belly.

            "Seems I got them all." He kept poking around, feeling fluid still built up in Drifts chamber, no doubt the from the lacerations the crystals had caused to his inner chamber. Humming to himself, the doc bot moved up Drifts frame before grabbing his cheeks. "Congratulations, you have survived your _first_ harvest." Stepping back, he demagnetized Drifts cuffs, watching him drop to the floor.

            Falling on his hands and knees, Drift kept his head down, not looking up the mini bots nor the doc.

            He wasn't sure if it was anger building in his spark, or deep inner turmoil, but he lunched up, Optics red.

            "I'll kill you!" He roared, grabbing doc bot, he slammed him against the counter and raised his fist. "I'll _destroy you_ "

            "Doc!" The mini bots jumped on Drift, yanking him off balance and backwards. Spinning around with them, he roared again, grabbing at them the best he could while they punched him.

            "I'll kill you all! I'll kill you!" Whirling around, he flinched when Doc bot was in front of him, his red optics low.

            "Not today." He sounded amused and snickered when Drifts optics trailed down. Swallowing hard, he watched the needle that was dug into his hip dispense a familiar pink liquid. Jerking the needle out, Doc bot flicked Drift on the forehead and watched him crash down on his back.

            "Take him back to his cell, inform Tarn the Harvest was perfect and he will be ready for _another_ in one days time."

             

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support for this recently, It really has helped me out


	10. Who I Once Was

Perceptor walked through the allies, arms crossed over his chest as he cautiously looked over his shoulder from time to time.

            Ratchet had insisted he wax and buff his armor so he would stand out among the other bots in the area. Having narrowed down a few hot spots in some slums, Ratchet, Blurr, and Perceptor made their rounds.

            The first two spots held no clues, nor any bots who even attempted to talk to Perceptor. After hours and hours of walking around, the scientist came to a stop and sighed. Holding up his arm, he pressed a few buttons into his arm console.

            "Ratchet, we have been out here all day and still no results." He looked up when a grungy crowed of bots passed him by. "I don't think this is going to work. I mean, it did seem like a good idea, but now I don't regret saying this was indeed...a bad idea."

            "Just keep walking." He heard Ratchet snap over the com before cutting the link.

            "Ratchet, listen to me. We should wait for Orion to get more information before we go out on our own. We could be chancing ghosts." There was no response and he felt like he had said the wrong thing. "I care about Drift as much as you do..." He did. It was Drift who took a liking to him and called his boring frame something of beauty. He did care about him, he _was_ worried about him.

            "Just one more hour Percy....please."

            "Alright....alright." Dropping his arm, Perceptor continued down the walkway. Looking all around, a part of his spark sank at how worn down this section of Cybertron had gotten. Granted, the war had done a number on the area as well, it was a miracle it was even still standing.

            Builds sagged and metal roofs flapped in the wind, bots peered down at him from holes in the walls as he walked past. It was obvious a bot of his stature didn't belong there.

            Thunder crackled in the skies above him and he felt rain droplets on his shoulders before he looked up and sighed.

            "Drift, wherever you are I hope are at least out of the rain." Putting his hands on his hips, he looked around and spotted two bots sitting against a building, a large blanket draped over their faces to protect themselves from the rain.

            All Preceptor could make out was their dirty peds and worn out hands.

            _At one point Drift looked like that. Sitting out in the rain, getting for credits...enrgon...anything to just live another day._

Swallowing a knot that he didn't realize had formed in his throat, Perceptor made his way over to them, all the while riffling in his subspace.

            "Ah....excuse me," Kneeling down by the bots, he tilted his head to try and see their optics, "I believe I have some energon sticks to spare if you would like them." He gave them a soft smile as the rain picked up.

            The two bots under the cover looked at one another, then back at Perceptor before one reached out its hand. Uncurling its servos, it held its hand up to Perceptor who placed a few sticks into his hand.

            Before he could pull his hand back, the bots wrists flicked and it snapped Perceptors arm and yanked him close. The second bot burst from cover and grabbed Perceptors other arm and yanked him close as well.

            "H-Hey!" Jerking himself back, Perceptor landed hard on his aft. The first bot who grabbed him rammed him down onto his back before yanking the cover off his head.

            "You don't belong here Autobot!" The minibot looked at his comrade and nodded. "You come with us now."

            "RATCHET!" Perceptor screamed while the bots tried to cover his mouth. Panic flooding his system when he felt the bots feel up his abdomen, dipping into his seams. He kicked and twisted in their grasp until a powerful gust of air washed over him and he opened his optics.

            The weight on his chest was gone, and all he could hear was the minibot squealing as Blurr slammed it to the ground.

            "Are you alright!?" Ratchet shouted as he was running over and skidding to a stop by Perceptors side.

            "Y-Yes..." Getting to his feet and brushing himself off, he looked over at Blurr holding both of the minibots in his hand.

            "Stop squirming you little scrap piles!" Blurr snapped as one bit down on his arm, biting right through the armor. "AH!" Dropping him, the minbot was quick to make distance, seeing Ratchet now close behind.

            Jumping and Transforming into a small jet, it zipped up into the sky and vanished.

            "Oh....that one was....a flyer..." Blurr looked back at Ratchet who put a hand to his forehead. "Well I still have this one." Making sure there second captive couldn't bite him, he cuffed him and forced him to his knees.

            "One is all we need." Ratchet motioned for Blurr to step away as he knelt down by the minibot.

            "I didn't think I would get lucky enough to find one of the bot who actually took Drift and Rodimus." Putting a servo under the minibots chin, he forced it to look up at him, red optics flashing with rage.

            "I'm not telling you anything." He spat, but Ratchet was quick to grab his cheeks and squeeze painfully. "Nng." It squirmed, trying to back away.

            "I think otherwise." Ratchets tone dropped to something Perceptor had never heard before. A mixture of anger and sorrow with a hint of sadism. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know if you don't want to end up in pieces."

            "Ratchet..." Perceptor tried to put a hand on his shoulder but got a death glare from over his shoulder. Blurr grabbed Perceptors arm and yanked him back, taking him around the corner a ways.

            "We can't stop what's about to happen..." He said in a low tone, looking away when Perceptor jumped at a loud sound of metal crashing against metal.

            Ratchet back handed the bot, sending him to the ground before hauling him back up and punching him down again and again and again.

            "Tell me where they are and it stops." Yanking the bot up again, he snarled when it smirked.

            Extending his medical blade, he rammed it through the bots shoulder joints and gave a hard twist until the components sparked and snapped apart. A loud wail escaped it as he twisted it slowly and deeper every time it tried to get away from him.

            "Where are they?" He hissed, his free hand clenching the bots shoulder. His optics narrowed when the bot sputtered static. It looked up at him with energon gushing from its mouth and nose before it screamed when the bade suddenly heated like magma.

            "Primus stop!" Bearing his fangs at the medic, he howled in pain again when Ratchet twisted his blade.

            "WHERE ARE THEY?!" Ripping his blade out, he moved it a hair away from the bots optics, threatening to thrust it in if it didn't listen to him. "Tell me!" The bladed tapped the glass of the bots optics and it flickered.

            "Frag off." It hissed before the blade pushed in, cutting the optic right in two. An energon curdling scream and ratchet felt his arm get jerked back by a horrified Perceptor.

            "Stop this!" Yanking Ratchet up, he was shoved back.

            "No! He knows where Drift is! He was the one I _saw_ dragging Drift into the truck!" Ratchets blade hummed as he whipped his arm around. "I'm not letting him off easy!"

            "Give him to Pax! You can't do this to him! Ratchet for Primus' sake you're a _medic_!"

            "Hehe....nng....hehe." Both Perceptor and Ratchet looked down at the minibot who had his cuffed hands up to his face. Energon seeped through its servos as a grin split its face. "You'll never find him..." He coughed and gagged on its own energon, one of its hands covering its damaged optic. "He's being torn apart as we speak....hehe." Head Jerking back when ratchet backhanded it, it just continued to laugh. "The boss likes him." It iniched away when Ratchet stepped closer and grabbed its collar piece. "Heard boss Frag him till he _screamed._ " A Hard punch that knocked the bots stabilizers out of commission for a moment and it landed hard on its back. Coming back online, it gagged and laughed even harder. "Haha he begged us not to...he fought....but boss always wins. Boss never lose." Spitting out energon, the bot was jerked down by Ratchets ped and was slowly crushed. It roared as its chestplate crumpled under the CMO's weight.

            Energon spurted from its mouth and it roared out with laughter.

            "Maybe if....you're lucky you will find his body along with the rest we dump. Spread open and broken." It's one good optic glowed brighter as it cackled, though it was quickly silenced when ratchet cocked his pistol and blasted it through the head.

            A moment passed before Ratchet stepped off the bot and turned, a hardened look on his face while he looked at Perceptor.

            Wherever his sniper side was, it was long gone. A look of horror mixed with fear was covering his faceplate. He stepped back when Ratchet moved closer.

            "What have you done..." He nearly whispered as the medic walked past him. He looked from the bot on the ground back to Ratchet. "Ratchet you went too far..."

            "Did you hear what he said..." Ratchet looked down at his hands. " _Did you hear what he said!?_ " The rage built and his fists clenched before a loud ping sounded and First Aid appeared on his HUD.

            "Ratchet do you read?"

            "Yes, what is it."

            "You're not going to believe this, but we found Rodimus."

            " _What?!_ " He looked at Perceptor and Blurr who both looked at each other. "Say again?"

            "We found Rodimus! He came crashing through the Autobot base in his Alt mode. He's in bad shape,  really bad shape. His systems on the edge of shutdown, I am doing all I can, but I could use your help back here."

            "And Drift?"

            "No, sorry," First Aid looked down on the hologram, "only Rodimus." He heard Ratchet curse before looking back up.

            "I'm on my way." Cutting the connection, Ratchet rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You two can go. I'm sorry I dragged you into this." A gust of wind signaled Blurr was long gone, but Perceptor remained. He looked down at the bot, shaking his head.

            "Ratchet...please....don't...continue like this." He watched the medic turn from him and walk off.

 

* * *

 

 

Bursting through the clinics door, Ratchet rushed through the building until he heard familiar cursing.

            "Stop struggling Rodimus!" First Aid grabbed the hot rods arms trying to keep him from thrashing.

            "Help!" He shouted, his optics offlined from system shut down. His frame rattled and pieces of his armor clattered to the floor the harder he thrashed. Barely able to hear, he thought the doc bot was grabbing him instead of First Aid. "Get off of me!" He snapped, managing to grab First Aid by the throat.

            Ratchet was quick to step between them, having an easy time prying Rodimus weak hand away from his student.

            "Rodimus! Calm down! You're safe!" Ratchet shouted over all the noise a few time until Rodimus was able to hear him. "Relax." He pressed the young hot rod down on the medical berth before he saw the visible relief wash over his face.

            "T-Thank Primus I made it..." Frame going slack, he wheezed. "Drift..."

            "Yes, where is he?" Ratchet leaned down, trying to hear Rodimus as his voice seemed to dim out. "Where is he Rodimus? Please, tell me."

            "He's still there...I left him..." His frame quivered and he tensed as he felt First Aid work around him, "I had to..." Frame falling slack completely, he offline.

            "Rodimus!" Ratchet snapped, growling and rearing up and throwing over a cart of supplies. "Slag it!" Standing there heaving, he let out a loud sigh and sagged his shoulders.

            "Ratchet..." First Aid shifted uncomfortably, never having seen Ratchets wrath. "Rodimus really needs your medical attention...." Fumbling with some tubes, he stopped when Ratchet was by the side of the table.

            "I know." His voice was soft, almost as if he were already mourning. "Let's start." Fists un-clenching, Ratchets hands returned to their gentle caring nature. Gliding over the young mechs frame, he was quick to weld him back together, reconnect lines, and clean off energon.

            His hands glides over Rodimus' abdomen before abruptly stopped. Running a servo over a small indent, Ratchet grimaced.

            "First Aid, look." They both looked at each other before Ratchet turned his head away and growled. "Take some of his energon, test it for Temptation. If he has it, we need to open his chamber, it might be damaged. Last thing I want is to patch him up only for him to bleed out internally."

            "I don't think you have to worry. His modesty panel is still in place, and it looks untouched. Remember all the bots we had in the morgue didn't have one."

            "Better safe than sorry, do as I ask. Then put him in the recovery bay and do not leave his side. I'll be in my office working on some things."

            "Ratchet please...leave this to Orion."

            "I'm sorry kid, I just can't wait." Especially after what the minibot had said.

_Heard boss Frag him till he screamed._

            Leaving his student alone to work, Ratchet left for his office, making sure to take a large cube of Energon with him.

 

* * *

 

 

Drift leaned back into the corner of his cell, hid body feeling much better now that the load he carried had been collected. Occasionally he felt waves of nausea, and zings of pain in his valve, but he tolerated it.

            Still, he was starved of energon and felt his system straining. He figured doc bot only have him a glass every day and a half. Just enough to keep him online and to keep from slipping into stasis mode.

            Swallowing hard, he closed his optics and leaned his head back, letting his finials tap against the wall.

            "A fine mess you have gotten yourself into Drift." Rolling his neck, he looked back down at his hands, sighing at how dirty and scuffed they had become. A large bite mark remained dented in two of his fingers from the previous day. Just painful reminders that the hell ride still wasn't over despite the relief he felt now.

            He sat alone in the dim light, his blue optics flicking to the side to look into Rodimus empty cell.

            _I hope you made it out. For your sake and mine. I just hope you made it._

Clearing his intake, he had to force down the knot in his throat when the thought of Rodimus being recaptured and tortured crossed his processor. Closing his optics, he reached up and rubbed one of his finials, which was slightly bent out of shape.

            A hard push and it striated out and he nursed it as it throbbed.

            _Ratchet always rubbed my finials. How he always knew the right spots...I'll never know._

Trying his best to mimic Ratchets movements, he felt some ting of pleasure, but not the kind ratchet could elicit from him.

            _What I wouldn't give to have Ratchet rubbing my finial right now. I'll never give him lip again. I'll to do what he says. I'll stop breaking his beakers when I visit._

            I tear rolled down his cheek and he quickly brushed it away with his thumb and opened his optics. Still the same grungy cell, except this time Tarn was staring in. His silhouette was just as menacing as the glaring red optics.

            "The doc informed me you are harbor large crystals." The cell door clattered open and tarn stepped in, chuckling when Drift scrambled to his peds. "I knew you were something special."

            "I'll kill you you fragger!" Lunching, Drift threw his fist as hard as he could, putting all his weight into it.

            A large purple hand came up and caught it in mid air, then twisted his arm until he howled and dropped to his knees. Elbow and shoulder joint sparking under the tension, he glared up at Tarn.

            "I admire your spirit."Releasing Drifts arm, he watched the samurai nurse the wounded joints before standing back up.

            "What the frag do you want from me..."

            "Just this." A talon tapped his abdomen and traced around before Drift pulled away with a low growl, his finials seeming to droop in defense. "You have already done so well, I cannot wait for more." He blocked another punch before pacing around the cell, leaving Drift in the center.

            "I'll fight you..." He was panting, "Until my last breath."

            "Be my guest. I enjoy the chance. The struggle." Leaning forwards, he snickered when Drift stepped back quickly bumping the cell bars. "But your friend had other decisions. He decided to run. Caused quite the disturbance, and I don't like that kind of thing happening around here." He was slowly advancing on Drift, and he had no place to go. Pressing himself into the corner, he squished himself into it as much as he could, even when Tarns faceplate was inches from his own. "My guards said they heard the two of you talking about how to escape." And then came a hard punch to the side of the head and Drift went down hard. Crashing onto his hands and knees, Tarn kicked him in the side.

            A loud wail of agony and Drift rolled and slammed against the cell wall before collecting himself onto his side.

            "I do not tolerate insubordination form my stock!" Bending down, Tarn kicked Drift in the side again, his ped digging into him and drawing sparks.

            When energon spurted from Drift mouth, Tarn pulled back and yanked him up by his collar.

            "To answer your unasked question, he's dead. I blasted him. So if you have any hope of being rescued, it died with your friend. In pieces here."

            "N-No..." Drift gagged when Tarn wrapped his servos around his neck. "You're lying!" He screamed, kicking out and into Tarns stomach, though it made no impact on him.

            "Hehe..." With his free hand, Tarn reached behind his back and pulled around a chunk of Rodimus' armor. Flashing it before Drift, he watched his optics go back and forth, examining the piece. It was dripping with energon, and it was the familiar red paint, unmistakably Rodimus'.  What hope was left in Drift, died and his optics showed it as they dimmed out.

            Releasing Drift, he dropped to his knees, looking down at the floor while Tarn dropped the amour by him.

            "Tomorrow you go for round two of the Harvest. Be a good pet and do as the doc says hmm." He watched drift gather the broken amour in his hands and just look down at it.

            "Boss..." A beaten up minibot said through the bars suddenly, "Urgent news." he stepped back when Tarn exited the sell and moved into a different room.

            Leaving Drift alone once again, he gathered the amour into his hands and squeezed it, something in his processors now clicking online. Something he long buried. Suddenly pleasurebot protocols started to flood his memory banks and his processor. He felt his insides shift and his desires change as all hope drained from him.

            "Yes, Master."

 

* * *

 

 

Tarn turned to the minibot, raising a brow when he saw how scuffed up he was.

            "What is it?"  
            "We were jumped by three bots. They took Scrap. I got away, but it was that medic I told you about. The one who was with those two. The red and white one. He was the one he couldn't take. The one I knocked out. I thought we wouldn't see us again...but he knew us."

            "Hmm....How are we on medics around here?"

            "Doc is the only one left, the last one died yesterday in the crossfire, and one a while ago from the harvest. Why?"

            "Bring him to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1, 2 Tarn is coming for You, 3, 4 better lock the clinic door


	11. Together

The rain picked up, pattering down on the clinics roof as the night cycle went on. The outside streets remained silent while the inside of the clinic was nearly in darkness. Nothing but a few hall lights and a simple desk lap lit Ratchets work station. Around the office, maps were scattered high and low, taking up space Ratchet was already low on. A particularly large one remained on his desk, covered in small black circles and X marks.

            With a sigh, Ratchet leaned forward from his chair and circled one area with a red marker, the area Perceptor had almost been taken from. An alarming reminder at how close the clinic was to all of this, it remained just a few blocks down the road, but that was what it was liking in the Dead End, trouble at every corner. Some part of him wasn’t surprised; another part of him wondered how often he had gone not noticing leakers going missing on his normal days or work. All this time, and it was happening right under his nose.

            A loud sigh and the medic leaned back, taking the half full energon cube off the desk and bringing it to his lips. As he tilted the glass, he looked out from his office where he spotted First Aid was sitting and doing lab work. He had stayed overtime to try and get as much done as he could. Ratchet was being unfair to him, and he wondered why he still stayed. He had left the clinic under his care, run off and did stupid things, but First Aid always stayed. Good kid, he was.

            Tilting the glass, the energon splashed against his lips and with one sip it slid down his intake. A familiar burn came, and Ratchet looked at the bottle he had been drinking. Nearly empty, he was a little disappointed he didn’t feel anything more than a little tipsy.

            Pushing back in his chair, he stood and brushed himself off before making his way over to First Aid.

            “Kid,” Voice horse, Ratchet cleared his intake while First Aid turned around.

            “Yes?” His visor was dim, he looked exhausted.

            “I have something I need you to do for me, and I don’t want any lip after I tell you what it is. You are to do as I say exactly how I say it.” Leaning himself against the counter, Ratchet crossed his arm and sighed. “I want you to take Rodimus to Iacon. He needs the CR chamber to fully repair his damage. The one we have here hasn’t been used in ages, no point in trying. He will be safer there as well. If he had managed to get this far, there could be bots after him.”

            “I can just call for a transport.”

            “No, I want you to personally bring him there. The last thing I need right now if for the transport driver to be working with whoever is doing this. Please, just do as I ask. You will be much safer there as well. I don’t want you staying around here late anymore. It’s become too dangerous.”

            “Ratchet I may be your student but I can still handle myself. I have handled the clinic all the while you have been gone, I can still do it while you are here.”

            “First Aid, when was the last time you actually recharged for more than a few minutes?” He got no answer. “Take Rodimus, stay with him, recharge, refuel, everything will be fine. I can handle the clinic tonight. Take the night off, please.” A gentle hand set down on the students shoulder, and he nodded slowly.

            “Before I go though, here are the results of Temptation in Rodimus’ systems.” Shuffling around on his cluttered counter, First Aid handed Ratchet a datapad. He watched his teacher scroll through it before his mouth turned into a hard line.

            “His systems are completely free of it.”

            “I did a bit more testing, and I took a biopsy of his inner chamber, there are some remnants of it, but it’s slowly being absorbed and filtered out of his body. Whatever this is, Rodimus is immune to it. This might explain why his interfacing array is untouched.”

                        “Good work kid.” Setting the datapad back down, Ratchet looked to the side where Rodimus was laying in a medical berth. His frame slowly rising and falling with each breath, and the steady beat of the spark monitor. His paint was chipped and he looked like hell, but at least for now he was safe. Still in an offline mode, it was impossible for him to get any information out of him, all the more reason to get him to a safer location. When Rodimus does finally wake up, hopefully he will be able to lead them right to Drift. Hopefully.

            “Perceptor told me what you did,” First Aid broke Ratchets thought, and he instantly regretted it when his teacher shot him an angry look. “I...I…Ratchet, please don’t do anything stupid while I am away. I know you’re worried, maybe even terrified, I am. But please, please, I’m _begging_ you, just…be _safe_ tonight.” There was a hint of deep sorrow in his voice, and he was trying his best not to let out a loud hiccup.

            “First Aid,” Uncrossing his arms, Ratchet wrapped one around First Aid and yanked him into a gentle hug, “I’m not going anywhere tonight. I promise. I’ll be here all night, working. You don’t have to worry about me alright?” He felt his student wrap his arms around his waist and squeeze him back. His little faceplate burying into Ratchets shoulder before he pulled away and rubbed his visor.

            “Y-Yeah…okay.” Clearing his intake, First Aid stepped back further and turned to Rodimus. Typing a few codes into the side of his medical berth, it slowly transformed and hovered off the ground. “I’ll ping you once I get to Iacon. It shouldn’t take me more than a few hours if I hurry.”

            “Just be careful, the weather has picked up,” Ratchet went to his desk and rifled around in some of the drawers until he pulled out a credit chit, “Here, take this. Get yourself some energon while you go. I don’t want you traveling on an empty tank.” Taking First Aids hand, he placed it and curled the little medic’s servos over it.

            “Thanks.” Bowing his head to Ratchet, he put the chit in his subspace before dashing around for supplies. Grabbing emergency kits, flashlights, and extra medical grade energon, First Aid was ready to go. With the CMO’s help, they had Rodimus ready to go, and First Aid sped off into the rain.

            “Good luck kid.”

 

* * *

 

 

Drift fell to his knees when one of the minibots kicked out the back of his legs. Nearly falling forwards, the back of his collar was yanked hard and he sat up strait with a loud gagging noise. With his hands behind his back, he made no effort to try and struggle. Wrists rubbed raw from the cuffs, it was pointless to cause himself anymore physical pain than what he was already feeling. Every once in a while the doc bot would stop by his cell and oil up his sore joints, but it had gotten to the point now it only dulled the pain.

            Having noticed the change in look in Drift’s eyes, the doc bot had let out a low laugh before him. It was no doubt the look of a broken spirit, or at least one dangling on the edge. This is no doubt why he had brought Drift before Tarn now, to shatter whatever Drift had left of himself.

            Drift didn’t look up at Tarn; instead he kept his head down and slightly tilted at the floor. At one point he would have been glaring daggers at him, but he couldn’t find himself to do it. Like the pleasure bot buried in him, he just waited.

            “Aw, don’t look so down my pretty pet.” Tarn nearly sang as he lowered himself onto one knee. Reaching out, he slid a large claw under Drift’s chin, tilting his head up until their optics met. Bright crimson optics shimmered into the dull baby blue ones that seemed to go gray. Tarn let out a low rumble, something stirring inside of him. “Hmm, I have seen this look before.” Pulling his claw out from under Drift’s chin, he traced it up one of his finials. “A look that only buymech’s give.” A smirk grew under his faceplate when Drift shivered at the contact. “I know what you once were Deadlock.” The shiver stopped and Drift seemed to sag slightly. “I know what you did to boost. It’s all over your records.” He circled Drift a few times before getting down on one knee before him again. “Run from the past all you want, but it will always come back to haunt you.” Pressing his thumb to Drift’s lips, he increased the pressure until he finally opened his mouth. Allowing the servo in, Drift didn’t hesitate to suck on it and run his glossa around it.

            He remained compliant when Tarn pulled him thumb back and replaced it with two servos, lightly thrusting them in and out of his mouth. Rather enjoying it when he removed them and a trail of lubricants followed, Tarn let out a low rumble of approval.

            “What a good pet.” Removing his servos completely, he chuckled at Drift’s almost needy expression. His faceplate was a very pale pink, and his EM felids emitting a welcoming vide. All part of long buried pleasurebot protocols he was running through his system at the moment. “If you continue to be a good thing, I’ll treat you to some medium grade energon.” A loud _click_ , and Tarns spike jutted out quickly from its housing. At the same time Drift felt his cuffs demagnetize, and his arms hung freely by his sides.

            Drift felt Tarns fingers at his mouth again, pressing for him to open, which he did only a little.

            “Come on now, open up. Don’t you want a full tank?” He coaxed, his red optics brightening when Drift leaned forwards and accepted the head of his spike. “Hmm, that’s it.” Rubbing a finial, he coaxed Drift further until he was about half way.

            He could feel Drift straining on him, and his frame tremble in response to him pulling on his finial, dragging him closer.

            Spike bumping the back of his intake, Tarn still went for more and more until he felt a loud whimper escape his pet. Looking down, he grunted at Drifts red face, optics squeezed shut while coolant tears built up at the corners. He was only an inch or two away from being flush with his hips, and Tarn wasn't going to let him get away with stopping there.

            A hard yank on the finial, and Drift jerked off balance, the spike sliding further down his intake and gagging him.

            His hands shot up and grabbed his captors’ hips, trying both to brace himself and pull away. Though Tarn held him firmly in place, his grip so tight he felt Drifts finial starting to crush in his hand. A loud whine and Drift’s optics shot open when a large flow of transfluid burst down his intake. He arched forwards, unable to help the fact transfluid burst from his nose as he gagged again.

            Tarn kept him close for a few more seconds before violently jerking Drift off of him. His spike instantly slid back into its housing before he knelt down by his coughing and wheezing pet. 

            “You’ll get used to it.” Snapping his fingers, he called forth a minibot that stood front and center. “Take him back to his cell; make sure he gets two cubes of medium grade.” Going back over to Drift, Tarn looked down at him, relishing the sight of Drift whipping away the transfluid. “Tomorrow you will be prepared again for a second harvest. Be sure to come as eager as you were today my pet and your rewards will improve.” Drift tensed when he felt Tarn caress his damaged finial. “You have potential to be one of the bests. Don’t let me down.” With that, Tarn was back standing at his usual post while the minibot and Doc bot hauled Drift to his peds.

            Having had time to heal, Drift was able to walk most of the way back to the cell before the doc bot threw him into it, though he had not left right away.

            “I’m glad you had a change of spark.” Reaching into his subspace, he let out a low chuckle when Drift stepped back. “Relax; I’m not going to stick you with anything.” His hand came out with two small cubes of energon. Drift perked up and stepped forwards only for the doc to pull his hand away. “Sit on the floor; you can have them while I fix your finial.”

            Having no problem with the order, Drift set down and waited patiently, rather relived when the doc followed through and handed him one cube.

            “Drink it slowly, you’re not getting anymore after these, so try not to purge them.” Getting right to work, Drift didn’t waste any time in downing the energon. A primal need was awakening inside of him, and he had to fight with himself to now down it in one go, just in case the doc bot tried to take it from him. This was the most energon he was going to get in the next few days at most; he didn’t want to waste this opportunity.

            “So you’re a captive like me…” Drift broke the silence after a while, his voice horrible horse.

            “You could say that, but I have no desire to run, so am I really a captive?” The doc pushed out a dent, not looking down as Drift took another sip of his cube. “I was a Decepticon field medic cycles ago. Used to run around on the battle field and drag bots off and put them back together before kicking their afts back out into the field. When the war ended, I just went back to doing what I did before, making medical equipment.” He shifted in his spot. “Then one day, the boss shows up, says ‘I have a job for you’ and this is the outcome. With the help of several other medics, we developed that serum. We tested it out on each other, only I survived. I made several batches of it before refining it to what it is today. It could still use work, but it gets the job done.” Finishing Drift’s finial, he reached over Drifts shoulder and took the empty cube from him. “The longer you cooperate with Tarn, the better you will be treated, and who knows, maybe he will take the shackles off of you like he did me.” He handed Drift the second cube before leaving the cell. “Try to get some recharge; you have the Harvest procedure to look forward to tomorrow.” The door slammed shut and he was gone.

            Looking down into the energon cube, Drift sloshed it around a bit before letting out a ragged sigh. So this was his life now. Returning to his old ways of sucking spike just to get enough credits to eat, or enough credits to buy a low grade booster. Just to get away from the pain for a little while, except this time there was no escape. There was no place for Drift to hide from himself or his mind that raced every night. There was no place for him to find comfort. It was just him and his dark damp cell with this single cube of energon. This was how his life was going to be from now on.

            “Tsk.” Finishing off his cube, he threw the glass, watching it shatter against the wall. Nothing but silence followed, and Drift rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, surprised it came up drenched in coolant.

            _Primus I feel like slag._

Hunkering down on the single blanket he had in the cell, he exhaled hard. His intake was sore, his valve was sore, his whole frame ached, but his spark hurt worse of all. It seemed every day bits and pieces of him left with each poke and prod. He wondered how long he could last before his old programming completely took him over. How long would he take for him to revert back to a broken down Deadlock standing on the corner flaunting his frame about?

            Swallowing hard, Drift buried his face in the blanket, his finals seeming to droop slightly. Sniffling, rolled onto his other side before dimming his optics out, at least he could still escape into recharge for a few hours.

 

* * *

 

 

Thunder crackled above the clinic, and Ratchet was jarred from a recharge he hadn't realized he had fallen into. Looking to the side, he saw he had managed to polish off another bottle of high grade, and he was rather glad First Aid was gone and couldn't see. No doubt the student would scold the master for letting himself go.

            Shifting in his chair, he stretched his legs before looking out through the office door. The clinic was nearly in darkness now, just Ratchets desk lamp and a light in the main entry were left on after First Aid left. Though Ratchet could see one of the examination room’s just fine from where he was. Memories flooded his processor of the first time he had Drift sitting there, looking at him like he was some sort of spark eater.

 

_“You don’t have to be afraid of me kid.” Ratchet tried to touch the mech before him again, sighing when it tilted away from him. “Listen, you can play hard to get all you want, I’m here all night, and I’m not the one who was being shot at earlier.” He tried again but still the same result. “Just let me examine you, I can help.”All he got from the boost addict was a weary look. “Can you at least tell me your name?”No answer, no surprise, so Ratchet pulled up his model number and started to read off his information._

_“Ah, here it is, Dead-“_

_“Drift,” The mech on the table cut him off, “It’s Drift.” Drift swallowed hard and looked away when Ratchet smiled._

_“That’s more like it.” Setting the datapad down, Ratchet pulled up a stool and sat in front of the much younger mech. “You look in pretty rough shape kid, want to tell me what happened?” No answer, no surprise. “Well how about some energon, you look half starved.”_

_“I’m not hungry.” Drift said quickly, not expecting his tank to rumble. Blushing with embarrassment, he turned away from Ratchet. He set a hand down on his stomach and pressed into it, trying to silence it, but it just rumbled again. “You know, you are the first bot ever to wander through my clinic doors refusing energon.” Spinning around, Ratchet moved about the room before returning and offering him a glass. “Take it, its high grade. None of that medical crap that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” Drift noticed he had two glasses. Hesitantly, he took it, and then watched the medic sit himself back on the stool and sip his own glass. Bringing the glass to his lips, he took in a small sip, as if to test it. His cheeks blushed at the delightful taste, and then he downed it in one go. Ratchet wasn't surprised, but offered him more, which he accepted._

_It went on like this for a while until Ratchet saw Drift shoulders sag slightly. At last he was relaxing. Though when Ratchet shifted, he tensed up almost immediately._

_“Easy, easy.” Hoping the energon had buttered him up enough, Ratchet placed his hands on Drifts neck. Very gently, he palpated the wires, not surprised his main enegon line was swollen, a direct cause from injecting a booster directly into it._

_When he heard Drift whimper, he moved his hands down to his dented chest plate. His servos ran over a scuff mark on the center of his chest, no doubt the spot a badge used to be. Before Ratchet could ask, Drift pushed his hands away and looked down._

_“So…you had a faction once.”_

_“I don’t want to talk about it.”Voice lined with regret and sorrow, he nearly jumped when Ratchet rubbed one of his finials._

_“Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, just…popping out a dent.” His servos worked swiftly, but Drift couldn't stop the dark red blush that erupted into his faceplate._

_Why it felt good, he wasn't sure, but he stopped his fidgeting instantly. Inhaling deeply, he let out a ragged sigh and just nodded to the medic._

_“Alright, come on let’s get you cleaned up, you can recharge here for the night if you like.”_

_“I would like that.”_

A loud crash of thunder and Ratchet was pulled from his daydream, leaving him back in the low lit room.

            Another low rumble or thunder, and the lights suddenly went out, leaving Ratchet in the dark for a few seconds before the emergency generators kicked on. The emergency lighting in the hallway flickered on, though they were a bright red tint.

            Ratchet would have thought the weather had knocked the power, but a shuffling around in the ventilation system changed him mind rather quickly.

            Getting to his peds, Ratchet slowly walked into the hall, his blade retracting from his wrist with a loud _snikt_. Having to steady himself, he now really regretted drinking so much high grade. Feeling a lot heavier and slower, he tried to focus on just staying up right.

            His steps were slow, nearly silent, something he had learned for fighting alongside Drift. Though he had hoped this was all for nothing and that it was just First Aid returning and not listening to Ratchet. Not likely.

            Turning hard into the main lobby, Ratchet squinted through the red light, everything was as it was. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except the shifting noise in the vents again which came to an abrupt stop.

            “Behind you.” Ratchet whirled around, swiping with his blade and grazing the minibots cheek. “Hehe! Get him get him!” Jumping back each time Ratchet tried to swipe at him, he felt something wrap around his legs.

            Looking down, he felt his weight shift when the wire was pulled and he crashed down hard onto his side.

            “Fraggers!” Arching up he sliced the wire and reared back up, not extending his second blade and holding them up to the two bots.

            “You killed our brother…now you get to play with the boss!” They both said in unison before lunging forwards. The first one slid between Ratchets legs, drawing his attention while the second landed a hard fist to Ratchets jaw.

            His head was thrown back and Ratchet staggered back, slamming against the front desk before he felt a minibot press down his shoulders.

            A searing pain in his abdomen, and he knew what was happening. Already he could feel the drugs taking effect when the mini bot let him go and he slid off the counter and onto his aft.     When the mini bot yanked the needle out, he spat at Ratchet, growling before looking at his brother.

            “I’m still mad Boss doesn't want us to kill him…Can’t we just break him a little?”

            “No.” The slightly larger mini bot shoved him out of the way and grabbed Ratchets chin, “Besides, don’t you think the boss will do a better number on him than we would?” He snorted, watching Ratchet slump over slightly.

            While the one of the minibots started to rip apart the clinic, Ratchet used what little strength he had left to pink First Aid.

            One ping, then two, then three, and no answer came. Curing as the corners of his vision started to fade out; he felt his blades slide back into his arms.

            _I’m sorry._

* * *

 

 

Ratchet was thrown down onto his knees in front of Tarn, his arms held painfully behind his back.

            “So, _here_ is the medic who has been causing quite a stir in my business.” Grabbing Ratchets face, he forced him to look up, his optics still groggy and lucid. “Well, I must commend you for all of your hard work. You found me and you managed to kill one of my own. Brave of you my good doctor.” Pushing him away, he snapped for the mini bots to get him to his feet. “Disarm him, shackle him, and put him in the cell block.” Tarn put his arms behind his back. “Tomorrow we break him in.” With another snap of his servos, the mini bots dragged Ratchet through the halls until they wiped him into a cell. Holding him down as they shackled his arms and placed a collar around his neck, they kicked him in the side before leaving him in the dark.

            Slowly Ratchet sat up, rubbing the back of his head before looking to his side.

            _Drift._

Vocalizer freezing, he couldn't believe his optics. There lying on his side in the cell just beside his was…Drift.

            “Drift…” His voice started as a whisper before he shouted, “Drift!” He watched the samurai jerk from his recharge and look around. Time seemed to stop when he locked optics with Ratchet.

            Sliding his arms through the bars Ratchet tried to coax him over. He held his pose for a long time, not understanding why Drift wasn't coming to him.

            “It’s Ratchet! Come here!” He pressed himself harder into the bars, finally seeing Drift shift.

            “Ratchet…” His voice sounded through the darkness. “Ratchet…” A choked sob and Drift dragged himself over, his arms clattering through the bars as he embraced Ratchet. “Is it really you!?” He broke down, sobbing into Ratchets chestplate. “Primus please be real. Please be real.” His servos dug in deep into Ratchets plating, yanking him harder against himself. Hyperventilating into Ratchets shoulder, Drift did his best to try and nuzzling into his neck, unable to slide any part of his head through the bars. “Please be real, please, please, please.” Pulling away, he looked up at Ratchet’s face, expecting those sinister red optics to be in place of those gentle blue ones.

            “It’s me Drift, shh, it’s me.” Pulling Drift flush against the bars again, he hugged him the best he could.

            His servos ran over his back, feeling how jagged his spinal struts stuck out now. His frame was thinner, no doubt from being half starved. He was grimy and covered in dust, his joints creaked and he could already tell Drifts modesty panel was missing.

            “I’m so sorry Drift, I’m so sorry.” Trying his best to brush away all of Drifts tears, they just kept pouring down his face, leaving dirty streak marks. “I’m here now, I’m here.”

            “I’m so sorry, I’m so _sorry. I'm so sorry_.” He was almost hard to understand as he broke down. His entire frame trembling so hard his remaining plating rattled together. His hands grabbing for any part of Ratchet he could get. Still he couldn't believe his optics. All the pain he had been harboring flooded out as he sobbed. the fear, the agony, the hopelessness, it all came out in one big mess of emotion. "I'm so sorry, Ratchet, I'm so sorry." Coolant came rushing from his optics, drenching his faceplate. "i'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" He kept shaking his head and trying to bury his face into Ratchet, frustrated when he couldn't. "Primus, I'm so sorry." His sobs quieted to soft hiccups when Ratchet entangled his servos with his and squeezed. 

            “Sush, none of that just relax.” Lulling Drift in his arms for the next few hours, he finally calmed down enough to just rest against him. Ratchet rubbed his finial, using his free hand to continue to stroke around his armor until his servos grazed a familiar puncture point in Drifts abdomen.

            Spark sinking, a knot formed in his intake. He gritted his denta as a rage built in his belly. Hugging Drift once more, he heard him whine softly. Glancing down at him, he looked extremely ill. Drift’s cheeks were a light pink as a fever set into him, and he tried to snuggle closer to Ratchet. Each breath he took drawing in a soft wheeze. He was cold, even for a mech, he was freezing, not a good sign. 

            “Please don’t let me go.” Drift nearly whispered, his optics slowly dimming until they flicked offline. "Please..."

            “I’ll never let you go.” Brushing another tear away, Ratchet rocked Drift until he slipped back into a recharge. “I’m not leaving you alone Drift. Not anymore.”


	12. See No Evil

Orion ran his servo over the gouge marks in the front desk, a rather troubled look on his faceplate that turned to frustration rather quickly. Removing his hand, he slowly turned around and watched Prowl and Magnus sift around the area.

_Ratchet you're such a fool. What have you managed to get yourself caught up in this time old friend?_

            Datapads, papers, instruments and all sorts of other things had been scattered about the entire clinic. It looked more like a robbery than an abduction point at the moment. The night before First Aid had finally gone to him after he had revised several emergency pings from Ratchet with no answer back when he tried to contact him. Having gotten worried, he finally went to Orion for help. Having told him nearly everything, he was surprised when the Prime stood and went with him to the clinic that very moment.

            "Anything?" He stepped over to Prowl who was shuffling through some shattered data pads.

            "No, nothing so far. Plenty of signs for a struggle, but no markings outside. We have no idea which way they could have gone. Whoever this is, it's no doubt the same bots who took the others. They know how to clean up their trail."

            "The security footage?"

            "I checked it already," First Aid stepped over an upturned medical berth before standing before Orion, "The power was cut at some point during the night and there is a huge amount of footage missing." Poking about on a datapad, he held handed it to Orion. On it looped footage of Ratchet sitting at his desk, looking over a map before finally slipping into a recharge. Fast forwarding a bit, the footage cut almost instantly. "I tried some of the other cameras but...the clinic doesn't have many to begin with. We used to have one outside...but it stopped working a long time ago. Ratchet was always too busy with patients to ever get them fixed...and he was never worried about something like this happening."

            "You should have come to me sooner...before all of this happened."

            "But..."

            "No," Orions voice boomed and First Aid took a step back, "Ratchet's judgment was clouded. I told him to leave this to us..." Orion rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning back to the front counter and looking at the gouge marks. "I told him to wait."

            "But sir, the things we found, if you saw what we saw, you wouldn't have wanted to wait either." He held up four shattered datapads. "Whoever came here last night and took Ratchet...also destroyed everything we found out about them. All that data and test I had collected...are gone. Whatever has been happening these last few cycles...has been really bad. Ratchet knew...I knew but didn't want to believe him right away. I thought he was being to rash as well, but....I think Ratchet was just as terrified as I am now." Orion took the shattered datapad from the student before placing a hand on his shoulder.

            "We're going to find them. We have come this far, and Ratchet, despite my warnings has also discovered a lot. So much so that he became the next target. Which might make you the next in line. I'll have you escorted back to Iacon when you leave. I don't want to risk anymore lives."

            "Orion listen to me. Rodimus, wherever he was, managed to escape. He is in critical condition and is in the regeneration chamber currently," Walking with Orion to the front door, they both stopped, "If I can get Rodimus to wake up, he might know the location of Drift, maybe even Ratchet."

            "You can wake him?"

            "It will be difficult, and dangerous, Rodimus is really badly beaten up. He took a fusion cannon shot dead center, part of his spark housing was showing. Ratchet and I did what we could here before I brought him to Iacon. A few hours after that is when I must have gotten the pings from Ratchet. I was unable to answer them then because I was in surgery with Rodimus. When I got out I had a bunch. I pinged back but he never answered, and I got worried."

            "I know."

            "But if Rodimus knows the location of the others, it would be worth it to try and wake him, even just for a few moments. In fact by the time we get back to Iacon, he should be out of the chamber and nearly fully repaired. I can take him out of stasis lock then."

            For a while First Aid watched Orion think about it before he sighed and nodded.

            "It is the only strong lead we have right now, to not go after it would be foolish. I'll take you back personally. I'll leave Magnus and Prowl here just in case the abductors try and return here for you, they will get a rather unpleasant surprise." Orion almost chuckled but it wasn't the time for it. "If you need anything here, grab it now, if Rodimus does pull through for us, we are going to head out immediately from Iacon. I agree, we have been at this too long, it's time to make a move of our own."

 

* * *

 

           

"Are you mad at me?" Drift had his back pressed up against Ratchet cell bars, allowing Ratchet to rub his spinal struts through it.

            "Why would I be mad at you?"

            "For getting myself into this mess." Drift shifted a little when Ratchets servos ran over a sour spot at the bottom of his back.

            "No, I'm not mad at you, kid. Maybe at first, but then...I was worried." Dipping into some of Drifts seams, he started to massage some of the wiring, not surprised when it was all tense and nearly knotted. His servos worked them out until they relaxed and flattened and he could see Drifts plating settling in a more comfortable position. "By now I just expect you to get yourself into trouble, and for me to come and save your stupid aft." He felt Drift quiver as he let out a low laughed.

            "Hehe..." He coughed into his arm, his optics dimming at those lovely servos working over his battered frame. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this." The laughter faded and he felt Drift plating tightened around his servos. "I didn't want this....to happen." Quickly rubbing his burning optics, he felt Ratchet grab his top finial and delicately rub it. Instantly Drift relaxed and calmed himself down.  "I didn't want you to get dragged here....I didn't want you to see."

            "Drift, I would rather go through hell and back with you at my side then without you." Rubbing extra hard at the base of his finial where he knew Drift liked it, he sighed.

            "I'm sorry about Rodimus..."

            "What do you mean?"

            "They killed him..."

            "Drift, Rodimus came crashing through the Autobot base days ago. He was torn to shreds but he's alive-" Ratchet jerked back in surprise when Drift shot up and grabbed the cell bars. His blue optics glistened in the low light.

            "He's alive?! Are you serious?!"

            "Yes, yes, he's fine, he's safe. He's in critical condition though. First Aid and I did what we could for him. He's in stasis lock until his wounds are not life threatening."

            Drift sank down the bard, his head pressed against them as a huge wave or relief washed over him. After a moment, he felt Ratchets hand on his cheek. Thumb gently stroking under his optic, he pushed his face up.

            "Drift, everything is going to be alright. We're going to get out of here. I'll make sure of it. I'm not going to leave you here alone. I promise." Drift grabbed his hand and pressed it further into his cheek, nodding slowly. Suddenly his face twisted with sorrow and his head tilted.

            _I don't want you to see._

            Nuzzling Ratchet's hand he, bit his bottom lip, trying to keep it from quivering. His fame bounced as he sniffled and let out a loud sigh.

            "Y-yeah..." Nodding again, he looked up into Ratchets optics, glad they were full of kindness. All too often did he see them full of frustration when he would visit his medic for a bit of play time. That angry look he would give him before it would soften when he kissed him on the nose. Ratchet had a weak spot for the kid.

            "Good." Pulling Drift close to the bars, he kissed his forehead through it before hearing loud steps echoing in the hall.

            Drift pulled away quickly and got to his peds before the doc bot and his minibots stood on the other side of the cell bars.

            "How are we feeling today?" The doc bot tapped on the bars and snickered when Drift took a step back. "Ready for round two?" The cell doors clattered open and Drift was grabbed and hauled out. "You too." Opening Ratchet's cell, the doc bot personally escorted Ratchet down the hall to the med bay. "

            "What do you want with me?" Ratchet asked, not putting up a fight while Drift thrashed in front of him.

            "Oh nothing much. Just your skills as a medic that is all. You see, we are a little low at the moment and it is a lot of work for me to move around all the stock by myself. So we recruited you. Since you have been so interested in what we have been up to, now you get to do it hands on." They rounded a corner and entered a medium sized exam room, one all too familiar with Drift.

            Drift kicked out his legs, slamming them against the berths edge as here refused to be put on it.

            "Frag off!" He screamed, arching and twisting in the mini bots grasps. "Let go of me you slag piles! let go!" Coolant streamed down the side of his face as a panic started to grow in his chest. If he laid down that horrible pain would come back, the one that twisted his tank into knots, the one that tore him apart and made him feel like he was going to die.

            _No! No! No!_

He wailed as an electroshock shot through his systems, forcing his frame to tighten and relax once it stopped. Another came and he screamed again until the Doc bot was in front of him.

            "I was really hoping you would just cooperate with me this time, but if you want to play rough, so will I." Tapping a button on his arm consul again, Drift jerked as his frame was electrocuted.

            "Stop!" Ratchet grabbed the doc bots arm, but was quickly shoved off, one of his cuffs magnetizing to a pole on the wall as a shock went through him as well.

            When the shocks finally stopped, the doc bot held out a glass of familiar liquid to Drift.

            "Drink it so we can get started." He growled when Drift turned his head away several times as he held it to his mouth. "You are trying my patience today...."Snapping his servos, the mini bots kicked out the back of Drifts legs, forcing him to his knees.

            "Stop!" Ratchet snapped, yanking on his trapped arm.

            "Quiet, just watch." Grabbing Drifts face and squeezing it painfully, he had the minibots hold his hands behind his back. "Open." He snapped, squeezing harder when Drift just whimpered. " _Open."_ Forcing a servo into Drifts mouth, he nearly gagged him before dumping in the glass and forcing his hand over his mouth. With his free hand he pinched Drifts nose and forced his head back until he swallowed.

            Shoving Drift back when he was done, The doc bot walked past Ratchet without a single glance.

            "You're going to administer the serum to him." Pulling a light blue vile from a cabinet, the doc bot poked the needle into it and sucked up the blue liquid before flicking the syringe. In the background he could hear Drift gagging before a loud splatter.

            All the energon he had managed to drink in the past few days spattered the floor as he purged his tank. Luckily the mini bots held his arched over body so he wouldn't fall into it before hauling him onto the medical berth.

            Hands and collar magnetized down, he was right back where he didn't want to be. He arched and twisted, doing his best to try and shake free, but a wave of nausea forced him back down. Whimpering, he shuttered his optics and felt the doc bot move over, Ratchet now by his side.

            "Take this," He handed the needle to Ratchet before putting a hand on Drift's belly and tapping the old injection point, "and administer it here, just above the chamber. Try anything funny and I'll jolt you until I fry your processor." He stepped back and motioned for Ratchet proceed.

            Looking at the needle in hand then at Drift, he felt an anger built as Drifts terrified look. Hands pinned by his sides, they were clamped into tight fists and his whole frame trembled. His optics quivered and he could hear him let out soft whimpers before a minibot jabbed Ratchet in the back.

            "Get a move on!" It snapped, forcing ratchet to bump against the berth.

            Ratchet looked at the doc bot who was standing a few paces away with his arms cross, a servo on his arm consol ready to shock him.

            "I'm sorry." Leaning over Drift, Ratchet felt him suck in his stomach when he touched it. He lowered the needle, nearly sticking him but stopping when drift whimpered. Looking at him, he could see he had offlined his optics and was bearing his denta, a look of horror on his face.

            Removing his hand from Drift stomach, Ratchet stood strait up and shook his head.

            "I'm not doing this..." A painful jolt sent him to his knees and he felt the needle pulled from his servos while the minibots dragged him back.

            "Listen, either you do as I say and live a long time here, or you both keep disobeying me and have Tarn dispose of you." Turning to Drift now, he didn't bother asking if he was ready.

            A sharp Jab and Drift arched off the berth, mouth wide as the familiar pain radiated through him until it poked right into his chamber.

            "Nnng! AH!" His optics burst back online and he sobbed out, his legs kicking hard against the berth before he felt the liquid dispensed into him.

            Ratchet turned his head away, gritting his denta as he listened to Drift wail. The thought of this happening to him before made his spark sink into his own tank. Only when the screaming subsided and Drift stared at the ceiling with white optics did he look back.

            "Bring them back to their cells. Put them together." He looked at Ratchet. "I trust if anything happens to him you will be able to handle it much better if you are in the same cell as him. Give me less work if I don't have to come running down." He snapped and Drift was pulled from the table by the mini bots.

            Ratchet was thrown into the cell first, having Drift thrown into is arms as the cell was slammed shut. Ratchet was quick to Sit down against the wall with Drift between his legs.

            "Drift!" He tilted Drifts head back, seeing his optics online but nobody home. "Drift." Pulling his slack body close, he placed his free hand on the hole in his abdomen, pressing on it to stop the bleeding. "I've got you kid, I've got you." Hugging him tight, he rocked him for what seemed life forever before his frame finally shifted.

            "Nng..." Optics returning to a dim blue, he leaned back and rested his head on Ratchets shoulder. Sucking in air between his denta when he felt Ratchet put pressure on his belly, he grabbed his hand and took it off.

            "D-Don't." He wheezed, "Just leave it." Sliding down a bit, he rested against his medic in silence for a long time.

            "I have to get you out of here." Ratchet put a hand up to Drift's forehead, feeling how hot it was getting. "How many times has this happened?"

            "That was the second..."

            "Hopefully your chamber isn't to damaged..." Ratchet pulled Drift up gently before rubbing his damaged shoulders. Drift explained everything to Ratchet the night before, leaving out only one critical detail.

            _I don't want Ratchet to know._

Drift shuddered, sniffling when Ratchet hugged him gently. Everything was falling apart. It was only a matter of time before Tarn came. It was only a matter of time before Ratchet figured it out.

            Drift tank turned and he whined, shifting in Ratchets arms till he lay on his side, his head on his shoulder. He buried his face into Ratchets neck, dimming his optics before another painful zing washed over him.

            "I'm sorry." He whispered, offlining his optics and allowing Ratchet to rock him into recharge.

            "Shh..." Cooing to Drift, he rubbed his back and sighed, at least he was here this time to comfort him.

 

* * *

 

 

Both Ratchet and Drift jolted out of their recharge when their cell door rushed open. Drift was the first to react, gasping and lurching back as Tarn grabbed his finial and yanked him out of Ratchets arms.          

            "No!" He cried, his servos nearly pulling off Ratchets chestplate. "No!"

            "Ah~ The doc did say you were more spirited than you were the other day." Tarn squeezed Drifts finial painfully.

            Thrashing, Drift kicked Tarn in the chest, drawing sparks, but having no effect  on the larger mech.

            "Go frag yourself!" He snapped, whining when his final was squeezed again. "Frag off!" He kicked him again, struggling while ratchet stood up and rushed over. "Get your hands off me! I'll fight you till my last breath if I have too!" The pain in his belly zapped him but he kept going. Jerking and twisting, he screamed. "Not today!"

            "I don't think so." Backhanding Ratchet, he flew back and hit the wall, and Drift stopped struggling.

            "No! Stop!" He tried to yank free of Tarn but Tarn was laughing now.

            "Will see how well you listen to me after this." Throwing Drift behind him, he flew into the mini bots grasp and was forced to his knees.

            While Ratchet was collecting himself, he didn't look up in time to see Tarns fist fly at him. His head jerked back violently and energon splattered the wall behind him.

            Ratchet dropped instantly to his hands and knees before a hard kick to the side jerked him right off the ground.

            "Stop! Please stop!" Thrashing, the minibots held him firm. "Stop it! Stop it!" The sound f metal crunching came again and again as Tarn smashed his elbow down on Ratchets back.

            When he tried to block, Tarn grabbed his arms and yanked him to his peds before jabbing punch into his abdomen.

            **"STOP IT!"**

            Ratchet cried out, purging his tank and spilling his energon onto the floor while Tarn let him go. Instantly falling onto his hands and knees, he was huffing, barely keeping himself up as a blaster was suddenly placed against the side of his head.

            "NO!" Drift reared, throwing the minibots off of him as forgotten strength came back to him. Lunching forward, he threw himself over Ratchet, wrapping his arms around him and shielding him.

            "I'll do what you want! I'll do what you want! Just stop!" He could feel parts of Ratchets armor jiggling out of place. The worst part was being able to hear some of his internal gears grinding against one another. "Just please stop! I'll do what you want. Just no more. _Please_." Looking up at Tarn, he could just see the pleasure in his optics at the sight before him.

            "That's what I thought." Grabbing Drift by the throat, he yanked him off Ratchet before kicking the medic to the side. "Haul him up, make sure he stays put." Tarn ordered as the minibots pulled ratchet to his knees.

            "I'm sorry." He heard Drift say ad he was forced face down. his aft was hiked up and he felt Tarn dig a claw into his open valve. "I'm ...nng...so sorry!"

            "Drift..." Ratchet looked up, his face battered and bruised.

            "Don't watch!" Drift cried out, coolant tears welling up when he started to file through his programming. "Please don't look!" He felt Tarns spike slide up his aft.

            "Stop! Don't! He's just a kid!" Ratchet leaned forwards, feeling the minibots pull him back. He watched Tarn lean over Drift, one hand placed on the back of his head keeping him down, while his free hand dug into his hips. Though it was Drifts face that made his spark almost burn out.

            _Buy mech protocols activated._

Drifts optics turned white and his face a bright pink when Tarns spike slid into him. His mouth gaped slightly, his valve feeling like glass was tearing it open when each hard thrust, but he made no noise.

            _Don't look._

His optics stayed distant, his cheek rubbing so hard against the floor it scuffed he metal with each hard thrust. His servos dug into the ground in front of him when Tarns spike stretched him in the most painful ways he thought possible. He could feel parts of his valve tearing, but he still made no effort to move, if he did it might mean Ratchet dies.

            _Don't watch._

He could see Ratchet calling out to him but could only here the pulse of his own spark in his audiles. The thrust were pure agony, but his frame shut it all out. His pleasure bot coding betraying his wants and needs for the pleasures of the one mounting him. The less he fought, the sooner it would be over.

            _Please stop looking at me._

Coolant tears streaked down his face when he felt his valve clench and an overload so painful a loud wail escaped him finally.  A steady flow of Transfluid was deposited and He felt Tarn pull away before knocking him onto his side.

            "Be a good pet and give me another good harvest." He heard Tarn say over the click of his spike sliding back into his panel. "I look forward to the next time I get to play with you." He pushed Drift over and snapped for the minibots to release Ratchet.

            As the cell doors slammed close, Ratchet crawled over to Drift and rolled him onto his back.

            "Drift! Drift talk to me!" He could hear several clicks before his optics returned to a baby blue and his faceplate turned pale. "Drift..." He tried to put a hand on his scuffed cheek but Drift slapped it away and sat up quickly, ignoring the excruciating valve pain.

            "Don't touch me!" He snapped. "Don't....just _don't_." His voice shook. "Leave me alone..."

            "Drift-" Ratchet put a hand on his shoulder but Drift jerked away.

            "Don't fragging _look_ at me!" He screamed, breaking down and sobbing into his hands. "Please don't look at me." Sobbing so hard into his hands, his cries echoed in the cell block. He could feel transfluid seeping out between his legs and his chamber turning as it accepted the new seed for harvest. "Stop looking at me." He felt his frame being pulled back until he was embraced into Ratchets arms. "Don't look at me."

            "Shh..." He rocked Drift, keeping him tight in his arms and nuzzling the top of his head. "I'm sorry Drift. I'm so sorry I couldn't find you in time. I'm so sorry I let this happen. I'm so sorry." He pulled up one of Drifts hands before kissing the back of his hand. "I'm so sorry kid." A knot formed in his intake and he felt his optics burning suddenly. "I'm so sorry Drift." Putting Drifts head on his shoulder, he hugged him tightly. "Primus."

            Drifts sobbing faded over time until nothing but soft hiccups escaped now and again.

            Ratchet had laid them both down on the single blanket in the cell and pulled Drift close to his dented chest. He spent hours massaging all the seams he could and rubbing his finials to ease the emotional burden even just a little.

            While Drift slipped into a nearly forced recharge, Ratchet remained wide awake. All this time they had been running around trying to solve a mystery, and all this time Drift has been subject to this torture.

            Ratchets tank turned as he looked down at the sleeping samurais battered face, at least he was free from harm when he slept. At least he could hold him while he slept. How many nights had drift gone alone here. How many nights had he gone thinking Rodimus was dead and he was never going to be found.

            "Primus have mercy."

 


	13. Crop Season

Both Orion and First Aid looked down at Rodimus as he lay unconscious on the medical berth. Looking nearly peaceful in his recharge, he was still covered in dust and dried energon from his battle. Paint chipped and pealing in areas, he looked like a gutter-mech.    
            "Once I put this into his IV he should wake up in seconds." Jabbing Rodimus' IV, First Aid injected a light green liquid into it and watched it travel down the tube and into the hot rods arm.

            At first nothing happened, and then all at once Rodimus' face twisted with agony as his pain receptors came back online. Optics shooting open, he reared up and screamed in agony. One hand grabbing at the mesh patch over his chest while hie free arm knocked First Aid back into Orion.

            "AH! Frag off! Get away from me! You'll never take me alive!" Wrenching the IV out, he squinted his flickering optics, not quite making out anybody in the room.

            "Rodimus! Calm down! It's me! First Aid!" Pushing himself out of Orions arms, First Aid put a gentle hand down on Rodimus shoulder. "You're safe, you're at the Iacon Medical facility. You're safe." Gently, he eased the hot rob back down on the berth before looking at Orion.

            "I made it....I made it." He was wheezing now, but his frame relaxed and he didn't fight Fist Aid when he put his IV back in. "Drift...." He froze. "First Aid! Drift! I can't just lay here!" His battered face suddenly became serious and he tried to sit up. "Drifts still back at that place! I have to go back! I left him there! I just left him!" He slapped First Aids hand away when he tried to push him back down. "Listen to me!" He snapped, "you don't understand what's happening! What they are doing to bots down there! Drift is...Drift is part of their experiment! I have to get back there! How long have I been out!?" Not waiting for an answer, he threw back the berth covers and swung his legs over with a pained expression.

            "Rodimus you must not move so suddenly! You were badly damaged! You're still in need for repairs."

            " Frag the repairs! If we don't hurry Drift will die! You don't understand First Aid!" Shoving the little mech aside, Rodimus slid from the medical berth and dropped to his knees instantly on the floor.

            Both of his legs felt a lot weaker than he had first thought, only when Orion helped him up did he stop yelling and cursing. A firm hand had grabbed him under the arm and gently pulled him up until he stood on his own two legs.

            "We know Rodimus. We know." Orions voice was calm and smooth and he tried his best to comfort the younger mech.

            "Prime, listen...this isn't just a simple abduction case like we first thought all those weeks ago. It's so much more." Looking down, Rodimus pressed a hand to his stomach, grimacing as he was reminded the torture he was spared but not Drift. "How long have I been here?"

            "Two and a half days...." First Aid said to the side. "Ratchet and I operated on you the first day you showed up...you almost died from loss of energon. Not only that...the wound on your chest nearly opened up your spark chamber. Judging from the blast marks on your arms, the block you did managed to save your life."

            "I wouldn't have made it here if I didn't get that canon shot..." A small smirk that faded quickly. "I have to go back, I left Drift there. I tried to go back for him but he was in his cell, I didn't have time to look. I couldn't risk being caught again."

            "It's alright Rodimus, it was the right thing to do."

            "No it _wasn't!_ " Yanking away from Orion, he put a hand to his face. "I shouldn't have left him! That fragging doctor. Who knows what he's doing to Drift." He trailed off, flexing his armor plates and wincing.

            "Rodimus we woke you from stasis early in hopes you would be able to tell us the location of the base they are at. They took Ratchet."

            Rodimus turned fast, a look or horror on his face that he instantly pulled back. Sagging his shoulders, he shook his head.

            "I can take you there myself."

            "You cannot come you are to damaged!" First Aid stomped his ped. "There is no way I am clearing you to leave this hospital! You're still falling apart! Ratchet and I did what we could and you still need time in the regeneration chamber! Any hard blows will tear you to shreds!"

            "We don't have a choice." Orion was leaning all of his weight onto one side of his hip. "Rodimus will go back on his own if we force him to stay here....not only they but he won't tell us where to find them...am I right Rodimus." Orion just shook his head as the younger mech nodded. What a stubborn aft hole.

            "If you two are going, so am I. With Ratchet gone, I am the only medic around...you might need one if we run into complications. Primus forbid that from happening. Plus I want to be there to tell Rodimus, 'I told you so,' when I am dragging him off the battle field in pieces."

            "You won't have to, I'm fine, give me a booster of the strongest nanites you have and I'm ready."

            "The only reason your wounds are healing so quickly are the nanites Ratchet gave you before you left for this original mission. If we find him in one piece you better thank him, it saved your life."

            "We need to leave _now._ Do you know what could have happened in the amount of time I have been in stasis? If Drift is still even alive..."

            "I'll have a crew ready by the time you reach the cities edge with First Aid. We will be waiting for you there and from then on we will move out. Rodimus, you will take the lead, but if it becomes too much for you, I can carry you in my trailer and you can give us directions from there."

            "We have to go in guns blazing, there are too many of them to do any kind of a delicate stealth mission. We blow their front door down and we storm in."

            "I have already called the Wreckers to help. We shouldn't have much of a problem. We just have to make sure we get in and out with what we need. The less casualties the better." Orion turned and walked to the door. "Once we are in Rodimus, keep to the back of the lines until it is safe. I don't need you taking fire on the front line, leave it to the Wreckers." He saw the frustrated look on the young mechs face but he just nodded anyway.

            "Tsk...whatever." Allowing First Aid to patch up some more of his armor he watched the Prime leave with nothing more than a sigh.

            "You can't rush into this Rodimus. Ratchet did the same thing and he..." Trailing off, he bent some plating back into place before shaking his head. "He's gone now and I don't know if he is okay."

            "Whoever took him has some ball bearings. Have you ever seen Ratchet when he gets pissed? I don't want to be in a orbits distance from him. How he always tolerated Drift...I will never know."

            "Despite Ratchets' hard exterior, he's quite the gentle mech under the armor." The student let out a small laugh before finishing up. "I fixed your blasters while you were in stasis. They suffered most of the damage from the canon shot. I managed to nearly get them back to full working capacity...but there is a change it may jam or just back fire on you. So make your shots count."

            "Don't worry, once I get in there, I'm gonna wrap my hands around that purple afts neck." Walking with First Aid out of the hospital room, they traveled down a long series of halls before getting to an elevator and getting in. "I am going to assume you and Ratchet found out more about that blue stuff?"

            "Yeah, some but not a lot, it was all leading us to dead ends. Nothing seemed to make scenes."

            "It will when you get there...I just hope we make it in time. If I find Drift like those mechs that first night. I don't think I could forgive myself for leaving him there like that. I _saw_ him trying to tear out his own insides. He almost did it _in front of me_. I had to call for help. What if he does it or already has done it while I was in stasis? What if he pulled all his parts out and bled out in that cell....alone." First Aid grabbed his arm as he suddenly tilted, hitting the elevator wall as a wave of nausea splashed over him. "What if we find him like that?"

            "We won't."

            "You don't know what I _saw_ First Aid." He touched is stomach, drawing First Aids attention. Without saying anything he pushed Rodimus' hand aside and ran two fingers across his stomach.

            "This mark here." He tapped the injection point. "Tell me _everything_."

 

* * *

 

 

Ratchet had lulled Drift in and out of recharge several times through the next few days. Having to keep his hands away from his stomach, he more than once caught the samurai trying to pull himself open. Ratchet wasn't sure what was worse, the fast Drift was doing this with nearly dead optics, or the fact the fever he had was getting worse and worse. The first night wasn't bad, but Drift kept apologizing to Ratchet, feeling he had wronged him for giving himself to Tarn so easily. The second night Drift held some conversation, even now he was still talking, which was a good thing. As long as Drift was keeping conversation, the longer he was remain sane.

            "Is this what it feels like to have a sparkling?" Drift had his back to Ratchets chest, his head lolling onto one of his shoulders.

            Ratchet had his arms wrapped around him, hands gently set down on his slightly budged belly. He was careful not to put too much pressure, when he did Drift would whimper and shift uncomfortably and sometimes he could see blue lubricant seep from his valve. Which was another thing Ratchet was worried about. As much as he wanted to help Drifts aching valve, he wouldn't let him near it. He wondered if Drift knew just how bad his injuries were and didn't want Ratchet telling him what he already knew.

            Valve lips swollen painfully, lining torn in several areas, it pulsed with an unforgiving ache that reminded him of the bot he once was. Begging on the streets for just the smallest amounts of energon. This was all just one big cruel reminder for him, and how nothing had changed in all of this time.

            "No," Ratchet pulled him up slightly, trying to angle him so his valve wasn't in direct contact with the floor, "When you have a sparkling, it is the most wonderful feeling you could ever possibly feel." Moving his hands up to Drift's dented chest armor, he tapped it. "You can feel it in here. This warm kinda feeling. Takes over your whole spark. A piece of you is going to be taken and made into something new, something incredible. It moves down," He didn't even try to touch Drift's stomach, "Were you nourish it until it is ready. Once its fully grown, you will feel this sudden wave of relief and almost a smile from Primus himself as the Spark leaves your body and go's to the Well."

            "Heh..." Drift shifted again, wincing. "Have you ever had one? I mean no way to tell which one is yours after they get a body but....have you ever had one?"

            "A few, back when I was younger."

            "Maybe Rodimus was one of yours." He cracked a smile when Ratchet huffed.

            "Primus I hope not." Smiling back down at Drift, he kissed his forehead, his lip plates touching the searing metal. Pulling back, he frowned.

            "What?" Drift asked with half lip optics. It was no doubt difficult for him to tell just how ill he was becoming. Probably thinking he was just beat up, he didn't know he was dying.

            Ratchet knew about the inner chamber damage the crystals caused, Drift didn't. Drift didn't know he was bleeding out internally, but Ratchet did, and all he could do right now was comfort Drift in his time of need. With the cuffs keeping him from activating any of his built in medical tools, he was trapped just like Drift.

            He kissed him again, rocking him slowly.

            _If he dies, he dies in my arms and no one else's._

Drift tilted his head as he watched Ratchets face twist in angst. Leaning up the best he could, he kissed the corner of Ratchets mouth, feeling the medics bottom lip quiver a moment.

            "Hey..." Ratchet opened his optics, looking down at that stupid white face with that stupid crooked grin. "If you cry...I'm gonna cry...and it will just be a disaster." He wheezed when Ratchet squeezed him into a hug.

            Baring his denta in pain, he stifled a whimper as his belly was pressed hard into Ratchets. Not wanting Ratchet to let him go, he kept his whimpers at bay until the medic released him back into their comfortable position. It was at the point now that Drift had trouble moving his legs. Though Ratchet never complained as he moved him around the cell. From time to time he would pick Drift up bridal style and walk with him around the cell just to get some movement in. No point in sitting in the same spot for days on end.

            As they day rolled on, Drifts condition got worse and worse until his face was a light pink and he was struggling just to inhale a breath without wanting to sob. Doing his best to comfort him, Ratchet tried to help him flex some of his armor, stretching the tense wires and joints, but it always ended with him begging Ratchet to stop.

Ultimately it came back to Ratchet sitting against the wall with Drift laying in his arms, now silent. As the hours passed by Drift became more and more unresponsive until he just stared at the ceiling blankly with nearly offlined optics.

            His face had paled out now, and his entire body seemed to fade gray as he slipped further and further down a road of no return.

            "Just hold on as long as you can kid." Ratchet whispered to him, rubbing one of his finials in an attempt to draw some kind of response out of him. He managed to get a few blinks and a soft groan, which was better than nothing.

            A loud knock came on the cell door, and the doc bot stepped in, grunting as he watched Ratchet pull Drift closer to him, as if protecting him.

            "Relax...just giving you your energon for today." Stepping in, he set down a tray by Ratchets front with two small glass' of very light pink energon. No doubt low grade, very diluted. "Drink up, The harvest is in a few hours, and I need him standing." Turning his back to Ratchet, the cell door slammed behind him. He looked over his shoulder, one single red optic in view as he looked at Ratchet. "And congratulations, you get to be part of the harvest as well...since you are going to be useless as a medic here. Might as well make you part of the stock." With that he was off and Drift and Ratchet were alone again.

            "Drift," Leaning forwards slightly, he took one of the glasses and put it to Drifts dry lips, "Drink." Gently, he tipped the glass and poured some of the liquid into Drifts mouth. At first Drift gagged but drank. When the glass was empty, Ratchet felt some relief when color returned to Drifts face. He picked up the second glass and held it to Drift who turned his head slightly away from it.

            "Yours..." His voice horse and popping with static.

            "I'm fine, I can make it another day with none, you need it more." He was a little more forceful this time and pressed it to Drifts lips. "Please Drift. " A moment's hesitation and Drift drank it all. "Good." Setting the glass down, Ratchet pressed the palm of his hand to Drifts forehead.

_Still on fire._

Drift shifted, his optics brightening as his fuel levels rose and he seemed to wake up a bit. A deep inhale followed by a loud wheezing exhale. Whimpering at the zing of pain, he push himself up, trying to get out of the puddle of blue liquid he couldn't stop from spilling from his valve. On the floor glowed three little crystals, which he kicked away in frustration.

            "Ratchet....you have to get out of here." Drift sounded out of breath. "Before they do this to you. Please, if you get the chance, just run. Just get out. Leave me here. Go back to Rodimus. Just leave me here."

            "Shut up before I weld your lip plates together." Picking dirt out of Drifts shoulder, Ratchet griped. "You think I can deal with Rodimus without your help. I'll take my chances here." Another small smile from Drift, which faded quickly when a painful zap shocked him through his valve.

            "I don't want you to see me like this. I don't want you to see what happens next."

            "What happens next is a raise hell here when we get the chance and drag your sorry aft back home." As much as Ratchet tried to put his usual grumpy humor into things, he could see that Drift knew the truth just as much as he did.

            He was in no shape to fight, no shape to run or even get up. He was sick and falling apart, and Ratchet couldn't take on a whole base of goons alone. The odds were against them, but then again they always seemed to be.

            "Drift, this is just another mess I have to get you out of. Buy me a round of drinks at the bar when we get out and we can call it even, hmm?" He got no answer, just a side smirk that faded.

            When it came time for Drift's second Harvest, he was hauled to his peds by the minbots. He cried out in pain again with each movement, no step without a monumental amount of pain.

            Ratchet was forced to walk a head of them with the doc bot, arms bound behind his back, forced to listen to Drifts sobs and pleading.

            Same room as before, hiking Drifts arms above his head onto the pole and hanging him there with his legs spread and exposed.

            Ratchet had his arms magnetized to a pole a few feet from Drift, just out or reach. He watched Drift put all of his weight on his wrists, trying to take the pressure off his legs.

            His frame trembled when the doc bot assumed the position in front of him and touched his inner thigh which was stained with light blue liquid.

            "Slight pinch." Jabbing Drift in the leg with a light anesthetic, he heard him sob over him. As much as a kind gesture it was to help ease the horrible pain, it was still torture for him none the less. "Let's get started shall we. Try not to move too much, you know how it go's" As the doc bot pressed his hand to Drift's belly, a loud explosion sounded, shaking the entire building.

            "What was that!" One of the minibots guarding Ratchet said and looked at his other minibot friend.

            "I don't know." Another explosion and the lights flickered on and off a few times. "Something's happening!"

            "Go." The doc bot turned slightly in his chair, snapping for them to move out. "See if it just Isn't Tarn having a rampage again." A much smaller explosion and the building quivered under their peds.

            Quickly, the two minibots left, rushing down the halls to the main entry. The doc bot returned to Drift, looking up at him and sighing at that sad face.

            "Don't look so cross with me. You would have been treated a lot better if you hadn't pulled that little stunt earlier. Shame, you were doing so well." His free hand parted Drifts valve lips, sighing at the damage. "You are the only one to have lived through a beating like that." He pulled his hand back, Ignoring Drifts choked sobs. "I'll let the medicine set in before I start. No sense in hearing you scream full blast at me."

            Getting up, he went over to Ratchet before looking him up and down. He seemed to examine Ratchets abdomen the most, taking in its unusual shape. Not quite the perfect hour glass shape as Drift's it was much bulkier.

            "Should have done as I asked. The chances of you living through the serum are minimal. Your model date is much too old. All the more reason we have been after much younger healthier bots." He glanced back at Drift who swayed back and forth.

            "You should be more concerned about yourself." A hard head-butt and the doc bot jerked back and fell right on his back. Dazed, Ratchet cursed when he felt his own head throb after the blow.

            Drift turned slightly, his pained face now showing quite a bit of surprise. He watched Ratchet slide down the pole, and if he hadn't been in so much agony he would have made a rude joke.

            Twisting, Ratchet managed to get to the doc bots arm console, demagnetizing his hands then finding the control for the cuffs.

            A loud hiss and pop and his shackles and collar fell off, along with Drifts as well. Crashing to the floor, Drift caught himself on his arms, but couldn't get to his feet. He could hear several crystals skittered all around the floor behind him.  His collar clattered to the floor and rolled away before bumping the doc bot.

            "Help me..." He begged, already feeling Ratchet wrap one of his arms around his shoulder and yank him up.

            "Come on we're getting out of here." Having to drag Drift down the hall, he picked up his pace.  Drift held on tight, breaking down and sobbing as they took several corners, getting nowhere.  "Fragging maze." Ratchet yanked Drift again but he pulled back.

            "Stop! Stop ! Please stop!" He slouched against Ratchet, his legs knocking together as waves of liquid poured out from his valve. "I can't run anymore! I can't." He felt Ratchet let him go and he sank to the floor.

            Kneeling down by him Ratchet grabbed his rusted wrists and wrapped them with some spare cloth he had in his sub space.

            "Kid listen to me, we are almost out of here, you have to keep going for me. We are so close, and I'll be dammed if you think I'm leaving you here." He watched Drift shake his head.

            "I can't...Ratchet I just can't." Using the back of his hand to brush away some coolant on his cheeks, Drift started to hyperventilate.

            "Come on, get on my back." Turning, Ratchet waited, looking over his shoulder and tilting his head to coax Drift over. "I'll carry you, just please come on. I'm not leaving you."

            Drift climbed on slowly, wrapping his arms around Ratchets neck and he was hauled up, ignoring a rush of fluids that trailed down his back. Drift pressed his cheek to Ratchets shoulder, sniffling softly. Though the pain was now off his legs, he felt rather guilty to make Ratchet carry him. Why wouldn't he just leave him. He deserved this kind of pain for all he had inflected in his life time. He deserved this and Ratchet wouldn't leave him.

            He took off in a light jog, Drift may have been an bot built for aero dynamics, but he was still heavy. He could hear him choking on sobs as he bounced him, his stomach bumping his spinal struts now and again.

            Skidding down another series off halls, ratchet was nearly blown over when the wall to his right erupted into pieces.

            He slid to a stop, tilting his head away before looking back up to see sinister red optics. Out of the smoke came Tarn.

            "You!" He roared, lunging forwards at Ratchet. "You fools! Look what you have done!" Blaster fire could be heard from behind him, and Ratchet could make out the faint outline of some familiar autobots. He turned back and looked at Tarn, who was riddled with Slice marks and bleeding out all over the place.

            _They found us._

No time to celebrate, he jerked back, avoiding a wide punch by Tarn. Another dodge, his chest being grazed this time. Drift was slowing him down. if he continued and Ratchet got caught it would be over for them in seconds.

            "Drift go!" Spinning around, Ratchet bucked Drift off through the hole in the wall while he remained with Tarn.

            "Ratchet no!" Drift rolled, covering his head as he felt Bots jumping over him into the fight that was happening in the main lobby.

            "I'll kill you." Tarns heavy ped came down as he advanced on Ratchet. Swiftly, Ratchet dodged left and right left and right before his blades extended and he X blocked a jab to his chest. he pushed against Tarn, but he was much larger than him ad was easily winning the fight. A hard head butt and Ratchet went to his knees, then an elbow to the back of the neck had him face down on the floor. "You're a bigger fool than I thought." A heavy ped came down on Ratchets hand, slowly starting to crush it.

            "Nng!" Energon oozed out of Ratchets nose as he tried to get free, only hearing Drift cry out his name in the background.

            Panic came on and Drift got to his knees, watching Ratchet struggle while bots around him brought. He felt a blaster shot nick his shoulder, but he went unfazed, just watching his medic fight.

            _I have to do something._

Spark pulsing in his chest, he pressed his hands to his own stomach, the familiar pain shooting trough him as he put more and more pressure on himself.

            _I can't just sit around and watch...._

A hard Push and Drift arched over, mouth gaping as he felt the wave of liquid and crystals splash between his legs. Another hard push and more crystals, more liquid.

            He didn't know he was screaming, his optics flickering red and his sharpened denta showing now. He couldn't hear anything except Ratchets wails of agony, and it pushed him on. Just a bit more and he could move again. Just a bit more.

            "Good riddance." Fusion cannon aimed at Ratchet's head, he looked up, his face beaten and bruised.

            "NO!" A flash of white and red and the fusion cannon went off.

            Ratchets optics widened in horror as he watched Drift's frame appear before him, his metal plating pealing back as he took a direct cannon shot to the chest.

            _Drift_

Optic following Drift as he fell backwards, he felt his spark sink when he clattered to the ground. A steady stream of smoke was erupting out of Drift's frontal plating, his optics glitching on and offline. Blue liquid sputtered out of him and pooled around him faster than Ratchet had ever seen.

            "What a waste." Tarn brought his cannon back up at Ratchet, only for a bright orange blade to slice it in half.

            "You're fight is with me!" Orion came crashing through the wall, tackling Tarn through the next and into the next room.  A series of shots could be heard followed by loud metal on metal contact.

            Leaving Orion to fight off the main boss, Ratchet crawled over to Drift and put his hands to his chest.

            "Drift! Drift look at me! Drift come on kid" His broken hand sparked as blue energon sputtered through his servos. It kept coming and coming no matter how much pressure he out down. The armor under his fingers crumbled and he could feel the spark pulse fading with each pump.

            _Stop bleeding stop bleeding stop bleeding!_

Drift blinked his half open optics, he could see Ratchet, he could see him shouting at him. There was a troubled look on his face and he watched it twist with sorrow. He could see Ratchet but he couldn't hear him. Watching through his dimming optics, he could see coolant tears streaming down the medics faceplate.

            "Drift! Don't you die on me!" Panic. "DRIFT!" Sorrow. " _Please_ Drift!" Pulling the slack body up, Ratchet hugged him, sobbing into the samurais neck. "Drift please." He sobbed until a hand was on his shoulder.

            He hadn't noticed the gunfire die down, he hadn't noticed First Aid and Rodimus standing over him.

            It was just him and Drift.

 

* * *

 

**Two Months Later**

 

* * *

 

"How is the new chestplate feeling?" Perceptor leaned close to Drift, smiling at him as the samurai picked at the new autobot badge.

            "You said its made out of the same metal yours is?"

            "The hardest alloy in the known universe."

            "It's great Percy. Thanks." A stupid smile and Drift leaned back in the medical berth. A month of surgery to put his insides back together, and a month to recover mentally and physically, Drift was near peak running condition again.

            Several times First Aid insisted he talk to Rung about what all had happened, and every time he denied. At one point Rung just showed up, but Drift talked about everything except what happened with him. He talked and talked and talked about all the times he drove Ratchet up a wall. All the times he snuck into the clinic and messed with the lighting to annoy Ratchet in the day time.

            But not once did he say what happened, in an attempt to leave the past in the past and move on with his life. Rodimus followed suit, not saying a word to Rung or anybody. After the raid in the building, Orions swat teams had found data logs of all of the abducted bots. Providing locations, in the next few weeks rescue teams had been sent out to collect the remaining few bots. Everything was falling back into place.

            "I should get going, it's getting late." Setting some flowers down on the stand next to Drift, Perceptor waved goodbye and stepped around Ratchet as he walked in.

            "How are you feeling today?" Sitting next to the berth, Ratchet put his hand on the edge of the berth.

            "Better now that you're here." Intertwining their hands, Drift eased back into the berth, his blue optics dimming. He had a full take of high grade, a warm berth, and the best medic by his side, what else could he ask for.

            "Heh, Good. Don't think you're getting off the hook that easy for taking a cannon shot to the chest."

            "I bet it looked cool, was Roddy looking."

            "I think you needed one to the head." A sigh and a small chuckle before Ratchet climbed into the berth with Drift.

            Gently pushing him over, he wrapped an arm around him and tugged him close. Pressing his chin to Drift's forehead, he kissed one of his finials and let out a satisfied vent.

            "Thanks for the new panel cover by the way."

            "No problem kid. As much as I like your aft, I don't think others like to see it as much as I do." They both laughed before Drift buried his face into Ratchets neck.

            "Hey, thanks for not giving up looking for me..." After a long silence, Drift pressed himself into Ratchet further, almost as if he was going to be torn away from him.

            "I would never stop kid." Stroking along Drifts back, he hunkered down and locked lips with him. "I would never stop."

           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.  
>  ****  
> I hope you guys enjoyed it! Thank you all for reading and be sure to check out Coralus' Blog!  
>  She did some awesome fanart of Crop season AND Corner Store Candy!  
> http://coralus.co.vu/  
> Big thanks Coralus!  
> Happy Holidays everybody!!


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